50 Years of 50 States: Indiana

Nickname: The Hoosier State
Date Ratified: December 11, 1816 (19th)
Capital: Indianapolis

• Indiana is the smallest state west of the Appalachians mountains…unless you count Hawaii.
• The name Indiana was first used by the 1768 Indiana Land Company. Congress later named it the Indiana Territory, and was one of the earliest Indian Reservations in the United States.
• Indiana was the first western state to mobilize for the Civil War, and ultimately 208,367 men volunteered for the war effort. The original quota for the state was only 7500.
• In 1914, Marcella Gruelle of Indianapolis created the first Raggedy Ann doll.
• Before the arrival of the Pioneers, Indiana was 80% forest. Today, Indiana is only 17% forest.
• The founders of Ball Corporation, the canning jar company, donated most of the funds that built Ball State University, hence the name.
• The farming community of Fountain City was known as the “Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad.” In the years before the Civil War, one couple, Levi and Katie Coffin, provided overnight lodging for more than 2,000 runaway slaves who were making their way north to Canada and freedom.
• The largest single-day sporting event in the world is the Indianapolis 500, which is held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway; the single largest sporting facility in the world.
• The state flag of Indiana was adopted in 1917, and is filled with symbolism. From Wikipedia:
  

  The flag consists of a gold torch that represents liberty and enlightenment; the rays around the torch represent their far-reaching influence. The nineteen stars represent Indiana’s place as the nineteenth state to join the United States. The thirteen stars in the outer loop symbolize the original Thirteen Colonies, the five inner stars represent the next five states added to the Union, and the one large star above the torch represents Indiana.

Flag of Indiana

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