Indiana county supports bill to boost local inkeeper's tax

VINCENNES, Ind. (AP) - A southwestern Indiana county has thrown its support behind legislation that would help fund improvements to a historic mansion once owned by the nation's ninth president.

The Knox County Council voted Tuesday to support the Grouseland Foundation's push for the General Assembly to pass legislation that would boost the local innkeeper's tax rate to fund repairs to the Grouseland house in Vincennes.

William Henry Harrison lived there while he was governor of the Indiana Territory. He was elected U.S. president in 1840.

Lisa Ice-Jones is the Grouseland Foundation's executive director. She tells the Vincennes Sun-Commercial that the legislation would generate upwards of $60,000 annually to fund maintenance, repairs and ongoing restoration work on the mansion.

The home, located about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of Evansville, was completed in 1804.

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Information from: Vincennes Sun-Commercial, http://www.vincennes.com