- INDIANA FAST FACTS -

On May 7, 1800, an Act of Congress took approximately 259,824 acres of land from the Northwest Territory to form the Indiana Territory. Five years later a portion was taken off to form Michigan Territory. In 1809 more land was taken to form Illinois Territory. On December 11, 1816, Indiana was admitted to the union as the 19th state. The state capital, originally at Corydon, was moved to Indianapolis in 1825. The official nickname "The Hoosier State" has been in use since the 1840's but the origin is uncertain and is a matter of debate.

Indiana is one of eight states that make up the Great Lakes Region. It is bordered by Michigan on the north, Lake Michigan on the northwest, on the west by Illinois, and on the east by Ohio. The Ohio River forms the boundary between Indiana and Kentucky on the south.

Indiana is made up of 92 counties. The capital is located at Indianapolis in Marion county. It is also the most populated city in the state. Vincennes, in Knox county, was founded in 1732 by French fur traders and is the oldest continually inhabited European settlement in Indiana.

Farming remains an important industry in the state and, in 2012, the USDA Census of Agriculture ranked Indiana seventh nationally for crop sales. Many of these farms, which cover over 14.5 million acres, have been owned by a single family for 100 - 200 years, and proudly display the signs awarded to them by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.

Indianapolis is home to the state's largest corporation, Eli Lilly, which has its research facilities and international headquarters there. Evansville is home to the world headquarters of Mead Johnson Nutritionals.

In 1961, two years after completion of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the state legislature created the Indiana Port Commission (Ports of Indiana). This provided Indiana with three ports on two different waterways that provide access to the Atlantic ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor on Lake Michigan opened in 1970. The Port of Indiana-Mount Vernon, on the Ohio River, opened in 1976. The Port of Indiana-Jeffersonville, is located on the Ohio River across from Louisville, KY. It opened for business in 1985.

Built by U.S. Steel in 1908 the Gary Works, at Gary, Indiana, was the world's largest steel mill for many years. At one time the plant employed over 25,000 people but, since the collapse of the steel industry, employs only about 5,000. When the jobs left so did the people and Gary has lost 55% of its population.

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