At least 10,000 years ago people lived in the area now called Indiana. About 2,000 years ago, a mysterious culture called the Hopewell Tradition filled earth mounds with tens of thousands of artifacts, making Indiana one of the most important archaeological sites in the United States. Tribes of Native Americans, including the Illini, Miami, and Shawnee, lived on earth thousands of years later. (And the Miami, Shawnee, and Potawatomi tribes still live here today.) Around 1614, the French explorer Samuel de Capelan visited the area, one of the first Europeans to see the land. By the late 1600s, the land was under French control. Between 1754 and 1763, the French and British fought for control of the region during the French and Indian War. The British were victorious and conquered the land. These lands would later become known as the Indiana Territory.
At the end of the American Revolution, in 1783, Britain ceded Indiana to the United States, and in 1816 Indiana became the 19th state. During the Civil War (1861-1865) the state fought for the union. Indiana was named after the American Indian tribes that lived there when the Europeans arrived. The nickname Huzier was first used to describe a person in the 1820s, but experts disagree on its meaning. The word may come from the old English term “hill” which was used as slang for people who lived in the Indiana hill area.
Geography of Indiana
According to itypetravel.com, this midwestern state is bordered by Michigan and Lake Michigan to the north, Ohio and Kentucky to the east, Kentucky to the south, and Illinois to the west. The state can be divided into three main regions. The Great Lakes Plains region covers the northern part of the state. Here, the sand dunes of Indiana Dunes State Park rise along Lake Michigan. Further south, the land becomes dark and fertile, with small lakes and low hills. The center of the state is covered by the Till Plains, which have low hills and valleys. The area is part of the midwestern “corn belt”, so named because it is one of the best crops in the region. Here is the highest point in the state, Hoosier Hill. It rises 1257 feet into the air. The Southern Plains and Lowlands region covers southern Indiana. Here on the plains stand out steep hills called handles. There are also limestone caves and caverns. The Ohio River creates the state’s southern border.
Wildlife of Indiana Allegheny barnacles, wild boars, muskrats, and meadow jumping mice are among the most common mammals in Indiana. Bald eagles, hairy woodpeckers and eastern bluebirds fly overhead. Graceful box turtles, colorful snakes, and small brown skinks are just a few of Indiana’s reptiles. The state’s amphibians include cave salamanders, American bullfrogs, and leopard plains. Sycamore, eastern red cedar, white oak, and tulip poplar (the state tree) are some of Indiana’s most common trees. And the wildflowers that grow here include the purple-colored tall bluebell, the purple-blooming raspberry, the bright scarlet king fly, and the blue wildflower.
FORT WAYNE
Population: 253,691 thousand people (2010)
Area: 204.9 sq. km
Founded: 1794
City status since: 1829
Time zone: UTC-5, summer UTC-4
Altitude: 247 m
Fort Wayne is a city in northeastern Indiana. It is located at the confluence of the St. Marys and St. Joseph rivers at Maumee. Three rivers are symbolically depicted on the flag of the city. Fort Wayne is the county seat of Allen County. See Indiana cities.
At the site of the present city, there was once the main settlement of the Miami Indians, Kekionga. In its place, the “whites” built a fort in 1794, named after the American General Wayne. After 15 years in Fort Wayne, the Indians signed a treaty transferring their land of 3 million acres to the United States. Settlers from Fort Wayne were attracted by cheap land. The population especially “jumped” in the 1830s and 40s, when a canal was built to connect the Wabash River with Lake Erie. Then a large diaspora of Germans settled in Fort Wayne, whose descendants are still the largest ethnic group in the city.
A large number of holidays and festivals are held in Fort Wayne: the Three Rivers Festival, fried fish, Germany, and the football festival. The city has a variety of museums: the history of African Americans and slavery, art, aviation, natural history, fire fighting, corvettes. There is a zoo in the city, and shady recreational areas on the birch of reservoirs.
EVANSVILLE
Population: 121.582 thousand people (2000)
Area: 105.6 sq. km
City status since: 1847
Time zone: UTC-6, summer UTC-5
Altitude: 118 m
In the bend of the Ohio River is the city of Evansville – the center of Vanderbero County. One of the most popular attractions is the Aztar floating casino. Evansville is colloquially referred to as “River City”. According to the popular magazine Kiplinge, Evansville is one of the best cities in the United States. Its history began when a small village was founded in the bend of the Ohio River about 200 years ago. Its first buildings appeared in 1809. Evansville acquired city status in 1847. Three years later, after a significant event, the railway began to function in the city.
In the 1950s, along with the development of industrial production, culture, medicine and education began to develop. At the beginning of the 21st century, large companies specializing in metal rolling and car production opened their branches. Modern Evansville is known as the location of large companies in the food, chemical, metalworking, and engineering industries. The city is influenced by a subtropical humid climate with hot summers and cool winters.
