Indiana State Facts
Indiana is a midwestern state located in the Great Lakes region. It has a diverse economy and a highly ranked education system.
It’s known for its farmland and agriculture (especially corn), but Indiana also has several professional sports teams and hosts the Indianapolis 500, one of the largest sporting events in the nation.
The capital city of Indianapolis is an art scene that’s full of theaters and galleries.
Related: Indiana State History
Quick Facts
- Capital: Indianapolis
- Population: 6.7 million
- Nickname: The Hoosier State
- Key Cities: Fort Wayne, Evansville, Indianapolis, South Bend, Bloomington
- Postal Abbreviation: IN
- Major Industries: Auto, life sciences, transportation, information technology, research and design
Quick Indiana Facts
- Everyone’s favorite cartoon cat Garfield found his first home in Indiana. His creator, Jim Davis, was actually from Marion, IN.
- Indiana’s considered the “Covered Bridge Capital of the World.”
- Indiana’s home to a sea of limestone deep below the earth and has the richest deposits of that type of stone found anywhere on the planet.
- The Coca-Cola bottle was designed in Terre Haute, IN.
- Indiana produces more than 20% of the United States’ popcorn supply.
- Santa Claus, Indiana receives over one half million letters and requests at Christmas time.
- People from Indiana are known as Hoosiers or sometimes Indianians. Hoosier is also Indiana’s official state nickname too!
- The first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne on May 4, 1871.
History
How did Indiana get its name: Indiana’s name means “Indian Land” or “Land of the Indians.”
It was given this name for the Indian tribes that lived there when the European settlers arrived.
Date admitted to the Union: Wednesday, December 11, 1816
Geography
- Size: 36,418 sq. miles
- Lowest point: Ohio River at 320 feet
- Highest point: Hoosier Hill at 1,257 feet
- Counties: 92
- Famous locations: Indiana Dunes State Park, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Soldiers and Sailors Monument, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Hoosier National Forest
Famous Indianans
- Renee Fleming- opera singer
- Jim Nance- football player
- Michael Jackson– singer
- Larry Bird- basketball player
- James Dean- actor
- Benjamin Harrison– president
Fun Facts
The first professional baseball game was played in Fort Wayne, Indiana on May 4, 1871. And Indiana hosted the last Elvis Presley concert in Market Square Arena in 1977.
Next time you enjoy a movie while snacking on some buttery popcorn, thank Indiana! 25% of the U.S. popcorn supply comes from Indiana.
Orville Redenbacher himself was born in Brazil, Indiana, and there’s even a town named Popcorn, Indiana!
The world’s largest Christmas tree can be found in Indianapolis. The enormous tree is called the Circle of Lights and is decorated with 52 strands of garland and 4,784 lights.
There’s also a town called Santa Claus, Indiana!
In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Indiana was nicknamed “Mother of Vice Presidents.”
Why? In 10 of the 13 elections between 1868 and 1916, there was at least one candidate from Indiana on the ballot.
There are almost 100 historic covered bridges in Indiana. Although 10,000 covered bridges were built in the United States in the 1800s, only about 800 still stand.
Because Indiana has a total of 31 covered bridges in just 450 square miles, it’s also nicknamed the “Covered Bridge Capital of the World.”
Wabash, Indiana became the first city in the United States to use electric streetlights in 1880.
Only 320 people lived in the town, but close to 100,000 showed up to watch the lighting of the lamps for the first time.
