Indiana is a crossroads. Ever since the National Road was built in the 1830s, transportation routes have been a large part of the state's identity. Indiana is at the confluence of the Midwest, where the Great Lakes give way to vast plains and countryside verges on big-city factories.

Travelers to Indiana will encounter a variety of roads throughout the diverse state, ranging from quiet, cornfield-lined two-lane routes to hilly southern byways to the racetrack at the Indianapolis Speedway.

Geography

History

The first travelers to reach present-day Indiana were the so-called big-game hunters who entered the area in pursuit of mammoth and mastodon 10,000 years ago. Between 1000 BC and AD 700, prehistoric Hoosiers began to grow crops to supplement the food they hunted and gathered. The practice of building large earthen burial mounds also began during this period and continued for more than 1,000 years. The mounds became increasingly large as time passed—some can still be seen in the state today, notably at Mounds State Park in Anderson.

The French entered the area in the late 1600s and soon established several outposts along the Maumee and Wabash Rivers, the most important being built at Vincennes. Following the French and Indian War (1754-63), the English gained control over Indiana, but British rule was short. After the Revolutionary War and through the Ordinance of 1787, Indiana became part of the Northwest Territories of the U.S.

Native American resistance to both English and U.S. forces was fierce. In the early 1790s, two U.S. Army expeditions were defeated in battles near present-day Fort Wayne. A third force under Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne turned the tide, winning a decisive victory that forced the Native Americans to surrender much of the territory that now makes up the state. The great chief Tecumseh led the last major effort against pioneer settlement. His attempt to unite various groups in the area was ended when William Henry Harrison (who later became president of the U.S.) won the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

Hoosiers sided with the Union in the Civil War and supplied a large number of troops to the fight. Although Indiana was predominantly agricultural in the early 1800s, manufacturing and industry became more widespread after the war. The importance of factories and mills to Indiana's economy grew in the 20th century, with a heavy industrial section developing in the north, near Gary, and a Biocrossroads initiative centered on Indianapolis. Today, the state remains an important producer of grains and livestock, and large stretches of farmland are one of the memorable aspects of driving through Indiana.

Snapshot

Some of Indiana's main attractions are historical sites, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, outdoor sports, living history at Conner Prairie, the Indianapolis Children's Museum, Indiana Dunes, the architecture of Columbus, scenic train rides, the utopian community of New Harmony, cross-country skiing, hunting and fishing, riverboat gambling, museums and restored homes.

Those travelers who think a cottage on a country lake sounds appealing or those interested in U.S. history, city life, architecture and sports (especially in Indianapolis) will find Indiana enjoyable. Though the scenery is very pretty, it is seldom dramatic—except during the autumn when the trees of hilly southern Indiana provide some of the best leaf peeping in the U.S.

Potpourri

Basketball-crazy Indiana has produced several of the sport's legendary figures, including Bobby Knight and Larry Bird, who is now the president of basketball operations for the Indiana Pacers.

Only four cars have traveled the entire 500 miles at the Indy 500 without a pit stop.

Actor James Dean grew up in Fairmount (just south of Marion). The annual celebration in his honor includes a car show, street fair, parade and look-alike contest that draws thousands to the small community each September.

Parke County, in western Indiana, is known nationally for its 30 covered bridges. Every October, as part of the Parke County Covered Bridge Festival, visitors drive along country roads to view and photograph bridges framed by flaming fall foliage while stopping along the way to shop at community sales or sample hot gingerbread or freshly squeezed apple juice.

The source of Hoosier, the nickname Indiana residents apply to themselves, is a matter of dispute: It may be a contraction of the question—"Who's here?"—that used to greet travelers knocking on a settler's door. Or, it may be derived from the name of Louisville contractor Samuel Hoosier, whose preference for hiring Indiana workers caused his employees to be known as "Hoosier's Men." The story we like best comes from poet James Whitcomb Riley: "(Early Indiana settlers) were vicious fighters (and) frequently bit off noses and ears. This happened so often that a settler coming into the barroom after a fight would see an ear on the floor and ask, 'Whose ear?'"

David Letterman, Kurt Vonnegut, Jimmy Hoffa, Florence Henderson, Red Skelton, Cole Porter, John Dillinger and Michael and Janet Jackson are all native Hoosiers. Frank Sinatra made his debut at the Lyric Theater in Indianapolis on 2 February 1940, and Elvis Presley gave his last public performance at Indianapolis' Market Square Arena on 27 June 1977.

The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was the site of the first long-distance auto race in the U.S. The winner in 1911 averaged 75 miles an hour. Today "the greatest spectacle in racing" boasts speeds close to 230 mph with the fastest average winning speed clocked at 185.981 mph by Arie Luyendyk in 1990.

Children send more than 500,000 letters each Christmas to Santa Claus, Indiana.

The limestone quarries of southern Indiana have provided the building material for the Empire State Building, the Pentagon and 14 state capitols.