This longtime ancestral home of numerous American Indian tribes, would eventually be named Indiana Territory," Land of Indians," by the U.S. Congress. The French first journeyed here in 1614, then the British. For decades they fought each other (and the Indians) for control of this strategic and fertile land. Shortly after the Revolutionary War ended, eastern settlers began to arrive. Within 30 short years, the Indians were defeated and expelled, and this Land of Indians would change dramatically.
From 1889 - 1910, the Standard Oil Company, U.S. Steel Corporation, and others, built huge facilities along Lake Michigan's shoreline, creating industrial towns (almost overnight) and transforming Indiana into a steel and oil refining mecca. Productive farms soon covered the rural areas, and immigrants by the thousands began anew in the Hoosier State.
The 20th Century brought economic change, as high-tech and service industries jumped to prominence, and Indiana tourism opened the eyes of travelers. Famed for Abe Lincoln's Log Cabin, the Indy 500, and of course, basketball, perhaps Indiana's most endearing charms are its small town attitudes and lifestyles still found throughout the state