Located on the Wabash River, the community was named for Tecumseh, the Native American leader of the Shawnee who fought General William Henry Harrison at Fort Harrison, only a mile south of the town.[4] Tecumseh was once known as Durkee's Ferry, and in 1890 it was merely a post-office with five or six houses.[5] Durkee's Ferry was once one of the main crossing points on the Wabash River.[6]
A post office was established at Tecumseh in 1882, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1907.[7]