State Tree
Tulip Tree
State Bird
Cardinal
State Flower
Peony
Indiana |
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| Entered the Union: Dec. 11, 1816 (19) | Capital: Indianapolis | |
| Origin of Name: "Land of Indians" | State Nickname: Hoosier State | |
| State Motto: The Crossroads of America | ||
| State Song: “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away” | ||
| National Parks: 2 • State Parks: 24 • State Historic Sites: 17 | ||
| Famous for: Indianapolis 500, Basketball Hall of Fame | ||
| Famous Indianians: Larry Bird (basketball), Bill Blass (fashion designer), Frank Borman (astronaut), James Dean (actor), Virgil Grissom (astronaut), James R. Hoffa (labor leader), Michael Jackson (singer), Buck Jones (actor), David Letterman (TV host, comedian), Schuyler Colfax • Thomas A. Hendricks • Charles W. Fairbanks • Thomas Marshall • Dan Quayle (Vice Presidents), Red Skelton (comedian), Forrest Tucker (actor), Wilbur Wright (airplane inventor) | ||
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Birds and Indy Cars: Click on photos of the birds, Indy Cars
and Monastery to find out more about them. |
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| In 1679, French-Canadian Robert Cavelier entered Indiana in search of a water route to the Pacific Ocean. French fur traders soon followed, establishing trading posts throughout the area. Forts were built during the 1720s in Miami and Quiatenon. Vincennes became the first permanent settlement in Indiana about 1732. | |||||||||
| The French & Indian War (1754-1763) ended with British victory and control of all land east of the Mississippi River, including Indiana. British territories were transferred to the U.S.A. after their defeat in the Revolutionary War. | |||||||||
| Indiana inventors: Richard Gatling of Indianapolis invented the machine gun in 1862. In 1885, the first gasoline pump was developed in Fort Wayne. Elwood Haynes of Kokomo developed the first successful gasoline-powered car in 1894. | |||||||||
| Almost half of all cropland in Indiana is planted in corn. | |||||||||
| The Indiana Dunes region provides habitat for many unusual plants, including prickly pear cactus, lichen mosses, bearberry, and more than 20 varieties of orchids. | |||||||||
| Santa Claus, Indiana receives over one half million letters and requests at Christmas time. | |||||||||
| Indiana's Ethnic Roots: German (22.7%), American (12.0%), English (8.9%), Irish (10.8%), Polish (3.0%) | |||||||||
| Religion in Indiana: 59% Christian (39% Protestant, 20% Catholic), 16% No Religion | |||||||||
| Many Mennonite and Amish live on the farmland of Northwestern Indiana. | |||||||||
| Indiana is the "Brain Bank of the Midwest" as Indiana's colleges and universities attract the fourth largest number of out-of-state students in the nation. | |||||||||
| Indiana has a rich basketball heritage. Although James Naismith invented basketball in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1891, Indiana is where high school basketball was born. | |||||||||
| In 1880, Wabash became the first city in the United States to have electric streetlights. | |||||||||
At a Glance
Indiana Quick Facts
| Entered the Union | Dec. 11, 1816 (19) |
|---|---|
| Capital | Indianapolis |
| Nickname | Hoosier State |
| State Bird | Cardinal |
| State Flower | Peony |
| State Tree | Tulip Tree |
New for 2026
More Indiana Facts & Photos
Indiana designated its first state fossil in 2022: the American mastodon, the most common Ice Age fossil in the state, unearthed in nearly every county.
Salem limestone quarried between Bloomington and Bedford faces the Empire State Building, the Pentagon, the National Cathedral, and about 35 state capitols.
The West Baden Springs Hotel opened in 1902 beneath a 200-foot dome, the largest in the world until 1913. Advertisements billed it as the Eighth Wonder of the World.
The Levi and Catharine Coffin house in Fountain City sheltered more than 1,000 freedom seekers and became known as the Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad.
Voices of America
In Their Own Words
"A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals."
"If we all worked on the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance."
Last updated: July 2026