Indiana

Indiana became a state in 1816 but grew slowly because transportation was difficult.  Roads were few and in poor condition.  Rivers were best but some were too shallow for boats.  By 1830, the National Road reached Indiana, eventually running from Maryland to Missouri (now US Hwy 40).  In the 1830s, Indiana built the Michigan Road, connecting the Ohio River with Lake Michigan.  In 1847, the first major railroad linked Madison and Indianapolis.  By the 1880s, railroad tracks and canals provided more adequate transportation to help develop the state.

Thirteen interstates cross Indiana - more than any other state.

Early glassblowers

By the early 1900s, Indiana glassmakers were using natural gas and became the 2nd largest glass producer in the US: Muncie was "Glass Town" for the Ball (jar) Corp.

Between 1880 and 1920, immigrants poured in from European, Asian and Hispanic countries - labor conditions were dismal but people needed jobs.  Indianapolis (e.g.) went from less than 19,000 residents in 1860 to 234,000 in 1910.

From 1826 to 1847, Levi and Katie Coffin in Fountain City helped 2,000 slaves escape,

making their house known as Grand Central Station on the Underground Railroad.  In 1850, Indiana's state constitution was rewritten to include, among other changes, provisions making it illegal to assist escaping slaves and illegal for African-Americans to enter Indiana.  However, Indiana sided with the Union during the Civil War, despite Southern sympathies, because they wanted to keep the US together.

In the 1920s, many farmers moved to the cities in search of jobs.  At the same time, African-Americans moved in from the South and European immigrants poured in, also looking for jobs.  These conditions allowed the Ku Klux Klan to establish a stronghold in Indiana, leaving some racist tendencies to this day.

Indiana's General Assembly (legislature) meets annually.  In odd-numbered years, a session lasts no more than 61 days; in even-numbered years, 30 days is the max. 

Only California produces more ice cream than Indiana.

In 1833 and 1849, cholera epidemics ravaged the population.

Wyandotte Cave is one of the largest in North America and contains possibly the largest underground mountain in the US.

Turkey Run State Park includes the longest single-lane covered bridge in the world.

John Dillinger escaped from the old Lake County Jail in Crown Point.

Indiana has 3 towns named Buena Vista, 3 named Salem, 3 named Needmore, 3 named Mechanicsburg, 2 named Nashville, 2 named Geneva, and 2 named Pumpkin Center.

Indiana's official state river is the Wabash.

The largest branch of American Quakerism is in Richmond.  Indiana has 100,000 Muslims, and the headquarters for the Islamic Society of North America is in Plainfield.