# The New International Encyclopædia/Indiana

Edition of 1905. See also Indiana on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.
​ INDIANA. ‘The Hoosier State.’ One of the North Central States of the American Union; bounded on the north by Lake Michigan and the State of Michigan, on the east by Ohio, on the south by the Ohio River, separating it from Kentucky, and on the west by Illinois. It lies between latitudes 37° 47′ and 41° 50′ N. and longitudes 84° 49′ and 88° 2′ W. The extreme length is 277 miles; greatest breadth, 145 miles; area, 36,350 square miles, of which 440 square miles are water.
Topography. Indiana resembles Illinois in its physical features. Lying within the prairie region, it has a gently undulating surface which slopes by imperceptible stages toward the southwest, The northeastern part has an elevation of 1000 to 1200 feet, the northwestern 500 to 700 feet; along the Ohio River the elevations are about 500 feet in the southeast and 300 feet in the southwest. There are sandy hills near Lake Michigan, and a series of low elevations of glacial origin occurs in the southern part, extending from the Ohio, in Clark County, northwestward to Parke County on the Wabash. A portion of northern Indiana is drained into the Mississippi through the Kankakee and Illinois, into Lake Michigan through the Calumet and Saint Joseph, and into Lake Erie through the Maumee, but most of the streams have a southerly or southwesterly course into the Ohio and Wabash. The last-named rises in western Ohio, and crossing northern Indiana it is joined by the Salamonia, Mississinewa, Wild Cat, Eel, and Tippecanoe. Near the western border the Wabash receives the Vermilion from Illinois, while its most important tributary, White River, joins it 50 miles above the confluence with the Ohio. The southern border is drained directly into the Ohio through the White Water, Blue, Little Pigeon, and other short streams. There are several small lakes in northern Indiana, the largest being English Lake on the headwaters of the Kankakee.
* COPYRIGHT, 1891 AND 1902, BY DODD, MEAD & COMPANY.
|- |Madison |align="center"|D 2 | Anderson |align="center"|460 |align="center"|36,487 |align="center"|70,470 |- |Marion |align="center"|C 3 | Indianapolis |align="center"|400 |align="center"| 141,156   |align="center"| 197,227   |- |Marshall |align="center"|C 1 | Plymouth |align="center"|440 |align="center"|23,818 |align="center"|25,119 |- |  | | | | | |- |Martin |align="center"|C 4 | Westshoals |align="center"|340 |align="center"|13,973 |align="center"|14,711 |- |Miami |align="center"|C 2 | Peru |align="center"|375 |align="center"|25,823 |align="center"|28,344 |- |Monroe |align="center"|C 3 | Bloomington |align="center"|414 |align="center"|17,673 |align="center"|20,873 |- |Montgomery  |align="center"|C 2 | Crawfordsville  |align="center"|508 |align="center"|28,025 |align="center"|29,388 |- |Morgan |align="center"|C 3 | Martinsville |align="center"|415 |align="center"|18,643 |align="center"|20,457 |- |  | | | | | |- |Newton |align="center"|B 2 | Kentland |align="center"|380 |align="center"| 8,803 |align="center"|10,448 |- |Noble |align="center"|D 1 | Albion |align="center"|417 |align="center"|23,359 |align="center"|23,533 |- |Ohio |align="center"|D 4 | Risingsun |align="center"| 87 |align="center"|4,955 |align="center"| 4,724 |- |Orange |align="center"|C 4 | Paoli |align="center"|400 |align="center"|14,678 |align="center"|16,8?4 |- |Owen |align="center"|C 3 | Spencer |align="center"|380 |align="center"|15,040 |align="center"|15,149 |- |  | | | | | |- |Parke |align="center"|B 3 | Rockville |align="center"|453 |align="center"|20,296 |align="center"|23,000 |- |Perry |align="center"|C 4 | Cannelton |align="center"|383 |align="center"|18,240 |align="center"|18,778 |- |Pike |align="center"|B 4 | Petersburg |align="center"|336 |align="center"|18,544 |align="center"|20,486 |- |Porter |align="center"|B 1 | Valparaiso |align="center"|418 |align="center"|18,052 |align="center"|19,175 |- |Posey |align="center"|B 4 | Mount Vernon |align="center"|410 |align="center"|21,529 |align="center"|22,333 |- |  | | | | | |- |Pulaski |align="center"|C 1 | Winamac |align="center"|437 |align="center"|11,233 |align="center"|14,033 |- |Putnam |align="center"|C 3 | Greencastle |align="center"|482 |align="center"|22,335 |align="center"|21,478 |- |Randolph |align="center"|D 2 | Winchester |align="center"|450 |align="center"|28,085 |align="center"|28,653 |- |Ripley |align="center"|D 3 | Versailles |align="center"|447 |align="center"|19,350 |align="center"|19,881 |- |Rush |align="center"|D 3 | Rushville |align="center"|406 |align="center"|19,034 |align="center"|20,148 |- |  | | | | | |- |St. Joseph |align="center"|C 1 | South Bend |align="center"|560 |align="center"|42,457 |align="center"|58,881 |- |Scott |align="center"|D 4 | Scottsburg |align="center"|190 |align="center"| 7,833 |align="center"| 8,307 |- |Shelby |align="center"|D 3 | Shelbyville |align="center"|408 |align="center"|25,454 |align="center"|26,491 |- |Spencer |align="center"|B 4 | Rockport |align="center"|406 |align="center"|22,060 |align="center"|22,407 |- |Starke |align="center"|C 1 | Knox |align="center"|314 |align="center"| 7,339 |align="center"|10,431 |- |  | | | | | |- |Steuben |align="center"|D 1 | Angola |align="center"|311 |align="center"|14,478 |align="center"|15,219 |- |Sullivan |align="center"|B 3 | Sullivan |align="center"|440 |align="center"|21,877 |align="center"|26,005 |- |Switzerland |align="center"|D 4 | Vevay |align="center"|225 |align="center"|12,514 |align="center"|11,840 |- |Tippecanoe |align="center"|C 2 | Lafayette |align="center"|488 |align="center"|35,078 |align="center"|38,659 |- |Tipton |align="center"|C 2 | Tipton |align="center"|260 |align="center"|18,157 |align="center"|19,116 |- |  | | | | | |- |Union |align="center"|E 3 | Liberty |align="center"|162 |align="center"| 7,006 |align="center"| 6,748 |- |Vanderburg |align="center"|B 4 | Evansville |align="center"|236 |align="center"|59,809 |align="center"|71,769 |- |Vermilion |align="center"|B 2 | Newport |align="center"|255 |align="center"|13,154 |align="center"|15,252 |- |Vigo |align="center"|B 3 | Terre Haute |align="center"|402 |align="center"|50,195 |align="center"|62,035 |- |Wabash |align="center"|D 2 | Wabash |align="center"|418 |align="center"|27,126 |align="center"|28,235 |- |  | | | | | |- |Warren |align="center"|B 2 | Williamsport |align="center"|366 |align="center"|10,955 |align="center"|11,371 |- |Warrick |align="center"|B 4 | Boonville |align="center"|397 |align="center"|21,161 |align="center"|22,329 |- |Washington |align="center"|C 4 | Salem |align="center"|523 |align="center"|18,619 |align="center"|19,409 |- |Wayne |align="center"|E 3 | Richmond |align="center"|409 |align="center"|37,628 |align="center"|38,970 |- |  | | | | | |- |Wells |align="center"|D 2 | Bluffton |align="center"|367 |align="center"|21,514 |align="center"|23,449 |- |White |align="center"|C 2 | Monticello |align="center"|500 |align="center"|15,671 |align="center"|19,138 |- |Whitley |align="center"|D 2 | Columbia City |align="center"|336 |align="center"|17,768 |align="center"|17,328 |- |  | | | | | |-
AREA AND POPULATION OF INDIANA BY COUNTIES.
Population. :
| County | Map Index. | County Seat. | Area in square miles. | 1890. | 1900. |
| Adams | D 2 | Decatur | 335 | 20,181 | 22,232 |
| Allen | D 1 | Fort Wayne | 660 | 66,689 | 77,270 |
| Bartholomew | D 3 | Columbus | 400 | 23,867 | 24,594 |
| Benton | B 2 | Fowler | 410 | 11,903 | 13,123 |
| Blackford | D 2 | Hartford City | 167 | 10,461 | 17,213 |
| Boone | C 2 | Lebanon | 427 | 26,572 | 26,321 |
| Brown | C 3 | Nashville | 317 | 10,308 | 9,727 |
| Carroll | C 2 | Delphi | 370 | 20,021 | 19,953 |
| Cass | C 2 | Logansport | 420 | 31,152 | 34,545 |
| Clark | D 4 | Jeffersonville | 375 | 30,259 | 31,835 |
| Clay | B 3 | Brazil | 357 | 30,536 | 34,285 |
| Clinton | C 2 | Frankfort | 402 | 27,370 | 28,202 |
| Crawford | C 4 | English | 304 | 13,941 | 13,476 |
| Daviess | B 4 | Washington | 430 | 26,227 | 29,914 |
| Dearborn | E 3 | Lawrenceburg | 309 | 23,364 | 22,194 |
| Decatur | D 3 | Greensburg | 384 | 19,277 | 19,518 |
| Dekalb | D 1 | Auburn | 369 | 24,307 | 25,711 |
| Delaware | D 2 | Muncie | 395 | 30,131 | 49,624 |
| Dubois | C 4 | Jasper | 425 | 20,253 | 20,357 |
| Elkhart | D 1 | Goshen | 465 | 39,201 | 45,052 |
| Fayette | D 3 | Connersville | 215 | 12,630 | 13,495 |
| Floyd | D 4 | New Albany | 150 | 29,458 | 30,118 |
| Fountain | B 2 | Covington | 383 | 19,558 | 21,416 |
| Franklin | D 3 | Brookville | 394 | 18,366 | 16,388 |
| Fulton | C 1 | Rochester | 382 | 16,746 | 17,453 |
| Gibson | B 4 | Princeton | 490 | 24,920 | 30,099 |
| Grant | D 2 | Marion | 416 | 31,493 | 54,693 |
| Greene | B 3 | Bloomfield | 482 | 24,379 | 28,530 |
| Hamilton | C 2 | Noblesville | 402 | 26,123 | 29,914 |
| Hancock | D 3 | Greenfield | 290 | 17,829 | 19,189 |
| Harrison | C 4 | Corydon | 470 | 20,786 | 21,702 |
| Hendricks | C 3 | Danville | 408 | 21,498 | 21,292 |
| Henry | D 3 | Newcastle | 395 | 23,879 | 25,088 |
| Howard | C 2 | Kokomo | 295 | 26,186 | 28,575 |
| Huntington | D 2 | Huntington | 385 | 27,644 | 28,901 |
| Jackson | C 4 | Brownstown | 520 | 24,139 | 26,633 |
| Jasper | B 1 | Rensselaer | 565 | 11,185 | 14,292 |
| Jay | D 2 | Portland | 370 | 23,478 | 26,818 |
| Jefferson | D 4 | Madison | 362 | 24,507 | 22,913 |
| Jennings | D 4 | Vernon | 380 | 14,608 | 15,757 |
| Johnson | C 3 | Franklin | 312 | 19,561 | 20,223 |
| Knox | B 4 | Vincennes | 510 | 28,044 | 32,746 |
| Kosciusko | D 1 | Warsaw | 521 | 28,645 | 29,109 |
| Lagrange | D 1 | Lagrange | 393 | 15,615 | 15,284 |
| Lake | B 1 | Crownpoint | 465 | 23,886 | 37,892 |
| Laporte | C 1 | Laporte | 563 | 34,445 | 38,386 |
| Lawrence | C 4 | Bedford | 460 | 19,792 | 25,729 |
​ Climate and Soil. The mean annual temperature for the State is about 52° F., ranging from 48° in the northern to 50° in the southern counties. Cold northerly winds lower the winter temperatures to an extreme of −25°. At Indianapolis the thermometer shows an average ​temperature of 28° for January, and 76° for July. The mean rainfall for the year over the whole State is about forty-three inches. With the exception of sandy areas around Lake Michigan, the soil is generally fertile, and some of it remarkably so. In the northern and central parts the soil is composed of drift materials, more or less assorted by water action into beds of sand and clay. Without the drift region in the southern tier of counties, the soil has been derived by weathering of sandstones and limestones, and is generally less fertile than that of the prairies. The richest soils are found in the river valleys, particularly in those of the Wabash and the White Water.
Flora and Fauna. See these topics under United States.
Geology. The geological relations are greatly obscured by the heavy covering of glacial materials. North of the Wabash the prevailing strata are of Devonian age and mostly limestones. The eastern part of the State between the Ohio and the Wabash is underlain by Silurian and the western by Carboniferous rocks.
Mineral Resources. The coal-fields of Indiana cover an area of 6500 square miles in the western and southwestern counties. They are of Carboniferous age and yield bituminous coal suitable for heating. The chief producing counties are Clay and Vigo, each with an annual output of more than 1,000,000 tons, and Sullivan, Vermilion, Greene, and Parke counties. The total output in 1901 was 6,918,225 short tons, valued at $7,017,143. Petroleum, one of the most valuable products of the State, is found in the Lima district of Adams, Wells, Jay, Blackford, and Grant counties. From 1889 to 1901 inclusive, the output was 38,355,000 barrels; in the last year it amounted to 5,757,086 barrels, valued at $4,822,826. Natural gas is obtained in many of the central counties, including Hancock, Henry, Hamilton, Tipton, Madison, Grant, and Delaware, the area of the field being about 5000 square miles. In 1901 there were 4600 wells in operation, and the output was valued at $6,954,566. A large quantity of gas is transported to Chicago. Indiana has a valuable quarry industry, producing sandstones and limestones suited for building and ornamental purposes. The Bedford oölitic limestone, which comes from southern Indiana, is one of the best-known building-stones in the country. Brick-clays are widely distributed, and marls adapted to the manufacture of hydraulic cement are found along the Ohio River.
Agriculture. According to the census of 1900, 94.1 per cent. of the land area of the State was included in farms. The farm area increased in every decade but one—1880 to 1890—of the last half of the nineteenth century, making a total gain in the half-century of 69 per cent. In the same period the improved land increased more than twofold, amounting, in 1900, to 77.2 per cent. of the total farm area. The most extensive non-arable lands are in the hilly region of the south-central section, and in the swamp lands of the northern part. Formerly the land that was too wet for successful cultivation constituted in the aggregate a very considerable portion of the total area, but by an extensive system of drainage the greater part of it has been reclaimed, and now constitutes the most productive land in the State. The average size of farms had decreased from 136.3 acres in 1850 to 97.4 acres in 1900, every decade of that period having witnessed a decrease. The rented farms amount to 28.0 per cent. of the total number, over four-fifths of which are rented according to the share system.
Agriculture has the advantage of a very superior system of railroad transportation, and of numerous city markets within the State. Besides, proximity to such great centres in adjoining States as Chicago, Cincinnati, and Louisville opens up a wider field. Indiana is not divided into crop belts, nor does any one crop have a monopoly. The three-crop rotation system is commonly in vogue, and for a long time the State was one of the leaders in the production of corn, wheat, and hay (timothy and clover). Recently, with the great development of some of the Western States, that place has been lost, though a high rank is still held. The census for 1900 showed a larger acreage for corn, wheat, and hay than was reported at any previous census. Potatoes and oats are grown everywhere, but in somewhat larger quantities in the northern part of the State. Barley, buckwheat, and rye are raised, but not in large quantities. All kinds of fruits and vegetables common to the temperate zone are raised. Much attention is being given to the production of tomatoes for canning, and no other State west of the Alleghany Mountains equals Indiana in this respect. Of the total number of orchard trees, apple-trees (8,624,593) constitute 61.1 per cent. Large quantities of peaches are grown in some of the southeastern counties. The number of peach, pear, and plum trees each more than trebled during the decade ending with 1900.
Stock-Raising. Stock-raising is important, attention being evenly divided between horses, cattle, and swine. Every decade since 1870 has witnessed an increase in the number of all varieties of farm animals except sheep, which suffered a corresponding decrease. (The decrease shown in the table in the number of dairy cows is due to a change in the method of enumeration, and is, therefore, only apparent.) Sheep-raising is largely confined to the northeastern part of the State. In 1899, $8,027,370 was realized from the sale of dairy products, about half of which was from sales of butter and the remainder principally from sales of milk. The receipts from poultry products are also very large. The following tables, taken from the census returns of 1890 and 1900, show the relative importance of the different crops and varieties of farm animals and the changes which have occurred during the decade:
1890 :
| Corn | 4,499,249 | 3,586,190 |
| Wheat | 2,893,293 | 2,570,017 |
| Oats | 1,017,385 | 1,102,479 |
| Rye | 43,562 | 62,890 |
| Hay | 2,442,414 | 2,330,504 |
| Potatoes | 84,245 | 113,509 |
1890 :
| Dairy cows | 574,276 | 579,287 |
| Other neat cattle | 1,110,202 | 932,621 |
| Horses | 751,715 | 720,035 |
| Mules and asses | 67,725 | 59,644 |
| Sheep | 1,010,648 | 1,081,133 |
| Swine | 3,763,389 | 3,320,817 |
fortunate than some of its sister States in respect to natural facilities of transportation and the possession of cities favorably situated to draw trade. It has no manufacturing centres of the first rank. Nevertheless, the highly developed state of railroad transportation gives Indiana an easy access to the markets of the country; and this, together with the superior resources of the State, is resulting in a rapid development of manufacturing. In 1900 there were 155,900 wage-earners engaged in manufactures, an increase of 41 per cent. for the decade ending with that year, as against an increase of 59.1 per cent. for the preceding decade. The percentage of the population engaged in manufacturing grew from 3.5 in 1880 to 5.0 in 1890 and 6.2 in 1900. Among the factors which are accountable for this recent growth, the most important is the development of the natural-gas resources of the State. From about 1886 the production of gas increased steadily until 1899, when it exceeded in amount that of any other State. The nature of this fuel confines its use to the region of production and to the immediately surrounding territories, where it may be secured by piping. Consequently, its benefits have been greatest to such towns as Elwood, Anderson, Muncie, and other places located in the natural-gas belt. The industries which have been attracted to this district are those which require an abundance of cheap fuel, such as iron and steel and glass manufactures. These two industries now take rank among the most important of the State, the increase of each during the decade 1890 to 1900 being respectively 307 and 392 per cent. The Indiana glass-factories now send shipments to Norway and New Zealand.
The manufacture of tin and terne plate has developed as a branch of the iron and steel industry. Another group of industries, and one that includes the three most important manufactures of the State, owes its development to the abundant local agricultural resources. Wheat and corn respectively give rise to the flour-milling and the distilling industries; and the feeding of stock, especially hogs, is largely responsible for the development of an important slaughtering industry. From the table appended it will be seen that there has been a slight decrease in the value of the flouring and grist mill products; but this is due to the decline of prices rather than in the amount of the output of the mills. The value of the production of liquors and of slaughtering and meat-packing products, on the contrary, increased respectivcly 134.9 and 57.1 per cent. Three-fourths of the liquors produced are distilled. The distilling interests are centred largely in Terre Haute. The slaughtering and meat-packing industry is the most extensive at Hammond (not far from Chicago) and at Indianapolis. During the decade 1890 to 1900 there was a decided decrease in wholesale slaughtering, not including meat-packing. This decrease has been much more than counterbalanced by the growth in that branch of the industry which includes meat-packing.
Another important group of manufactures has developed as a result of the extensive local timber resources. The forests contain valuable hard-wood timbers, which are extensively used in the manufacture of carriages and wagons, furniture, and agricultural implements. South Bend is noted for the manufacture of carriages and wagons. To the supplies of hard-wood also is partially due the prominence attained in car-construction. The wood-pulp industry is likewise dependent upon the forests for its raw materials. Although the resources of the forests are rapidly diminishing, the industries which depend upon forest products continue to thrive, the necessary supplies being obtained from the adjoining States to the north and the south. Among other industries the manufacture of foundry and machine-shop products is the most important. The gain during the decade amounted to 80.5 per cent. The printing and publishing output and the manufacture of pottery, terra-cotta and fire-clay products also showed decided gains during the decade. The census figures on the next page show the relative importance of the leading industries for the years indicated.
Transportation. Indiana's natural means of transportation consists of the Ohio River, forming the entire southern boundary of the State; its tributary, the Wabash, navigable at high water as far as Lafayette; and Lake Michigan on the north, with the single port of Michigan City. The National Road, running east and west through the central part of the State, played an important part during the pioneer period, as did also two canals—one, the Wabash and Erie, entering the State at the northeast corner and running diagonally across it to Evansville in the southwest corner; the other, the White Water Canal, extending from Lawrenceburg in the southeast corner of the State, north to Hagerstown. But these have been superseded by railroads, and for a number of years have been abandoned. Railroads have come to be the principal means of communication, the State being most advantageously placed in this respect. All lines from the east centring in Chicago pass through the State, as do most of the lines connecting the great commercial centres of the East with those of the West, besides some important northern and southern lines. Of a total mileage of 6459, less than 1000 miles of road have terminals within the State. There are 19 miles of railroad per 100 square miles of territory, and 24.91 miles for every 10,000 inhabitants. Recently there has been a remarkable development of cross-country electric car lines, and apparently these will become common in districts where local passenger traffic is great, or where railroad accommodations are wanting. Indiana has, in addition to one port of entry, two ports of delivery, Evansville and Indianapolis.
Banks. In 1902 there were 145 national banks in the State. Their capital stock was $16,774,000; cash, etc., $8,998,000; loans, $62,453,000; and deposits, $76,079,000. There were 110 State banks with a capital of $4,914,000; cash, $1,618,000; loans, $17,991,000; and deposits, $23,316,000. There were 68 private banks with a capital of $1,639,000; cash, $659,000; loans (not including loans on real estate and other collateral security), $5,472,000; and deposits. $9,692,000. In the savings banks of the State there were $6,561,000 deposits, the average deposit being $267.93.
Government. Indiana has its second Constitution, the present one having been ratified by a vote of the people in 1851. An amendment may be proposed by either House, and after being approved by a majority of the members elected to each House of two consecutively chosen assemblies ​it becomes a part of the Constitution. Voters must be twenty-one years of age, and have resided in the State six months, the township sixty days, and the ward or precinct thirty days. General elections are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November; the time of holding township elections is determined by law.
Value of products, including custom  work and repairing :
| Total for selected industries for State | 1900 | 5,441 | 98,470 | $247,207,994 |
| | 1890 | 4,920 | 75,564 | 165,736,153 |
| Increase 1890 to 1900 | ...... | 521 | 22,906 | $81,471,841 |
| Per cent. of increase | ...... | 10.6 | 30.3 | 49.2 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State | 1900 | 30.2 | 63.1 | 65.4 |
| | 1890 | 39.8 | 68.3 | 73.1 |
| Glass | 1900 | 110 | 13,015 | 14,757,883 |
| | 1890 | 21 | 3,010 | 2,995,409 |
| Iron and steel | 1900 | 27 | 7,579 | 19,338,48l |
| | 1890 | 15 | 2,648 | 4,742,760 |
| Flouring and grist mill products | 1900 | 897 | 2,124 | 30,150,766 |
| | 1890 | 723 | 2,785 | 31,239,627 |
| Liquors. | | | | |
| Total | 1900 | 66 | 1,281 | 22,738,105 |
| | 1890 | 54 | 1,032 | 9,677,973 |
| Slaughtering. | | | | |
| Total | 1900 | 36 | 3,597 | 43,862,273 |
| | 1890 | 21 | 2,107 | 27,913,840 |
| Lumber and timber products | 1900 | 1,849 | 9,503 | 20,613,724 |
| | 1890 | 1,633 | 15,021 | 20,278,023 |
| Lumber, planing-mill products, | 1900 | 205 | 2,115 | 5,088,669 |
| including sash, doors, and blinds. | 1890 | 178 | 2,122 | 4,787,974 |
| Paper and wood pulp | 1900 | 39 | 1,816 | 4,170,497 |
| | 1890 | 29 | 805 | 1,776,016 |
| Agricultural implements | 1900 | 45 | 3,419 | 6,415,081 |
| | 1890 | 54 | 3,078 | 5,756,131 |
| Carriage and wagon materials | 1900 | 61 | 2,289 | 3,149,588 |
| | 1890 | 38 | 1,856 | 2,282,810 |
| Carriages and wagons | 1900 | 275 | 6,490 | 12,742,243 |
| | 1890 | 394 | 4,508 | 8,248,873 |
| Cars and general shop construction | 1900 | 54 | 8,081 | 10,242,422 |
| and repairs by steam-railroad companies | 1890 | 48 | 6,613 | 7,289,382 |
| Cars, steam railroad, | 1900 | 4 | 3,337 | 9,006,577 |
| not including operations of railroad companies | 1890 | 4 | 3,310 | 7,073,329 |
| Furniture, factory product | 1900 | 129 | 7,149 | 8,769,509 |
| | 1890 | 131 | 6,096 | 7,662,650 |
| Foundry and machine shop products | 1900 | 337 | 10,339 | 17,228,096 |
| | 1890 | 206 | 5,904 | 9,542,499 |
| Printing and publishing, newspapers and periodicals | 1900 | 638 | 4,084 | 6,093,191 |
| | 1890 | 505 | 2,628 | 3,589,513 |
| Clay products: | | | | |
| Total | 1900 | 607 | 4,859 | 4,222,529 |
| | 1890 | 784 | 5,926 | 3,142,454 |
| Clothing, men's, factory product | 1900 | 31 | 2,908 | 3,367,831 |
| | 1890 | 22 | 1,874 | 2,570,179 |
| Textiles: | | | | |
| Total | 1900 | 31 | 4,485 | 5,250,529 |
| | 1890 | 60 | 4,241 | 5,166,711 |
Legislative. The Senate cannot exceed fifty, nor the House of Representatives one hundred members. The former are elected for four, and the latter for two years, from districts composed of contiguous counties, and no county can be divided for Senatorial apportionment. The regular sessions of the Legislature meet biennially on the Thursday after the first Monday of January in odd years, but the time of meeting may be changed by law. If an organization of either House is not effected in five days, compensation to the members of such House stops until its organization has been accomplished. Ordinary sessions are limited in length to sixty-one days, and special sessions to forty days. Revenue bills must originate in the Lower House.
Executive. The Governor and Lieutenant-Governor are elected for four years, the former being eligible but for four in any period of eight years. A majority of the members in the two Houses may override the Governor's veto. Bills sent to the Governor become law if not returned within three days. The Governor exercises the usual pardoning power, subject to legal regulations. A secretary, auditor, and treasurer are elected for two years.
Judicial. The Superior Court judges (from three to five) are elected for six years from districts by the State at large. A clerk of the Superior Court is elected for four years. The State is divided into judicial circuits, in each of which a judge is elected to serve six years, but the law makes it possible for a judge elected on one circuit to hold court in another. A prosecuting attorney is elected in each judicial circuit for two years. Justices of peace are elected in townships for four years. Other courts or tribunals of conciliation may be established by law.
Local Government. At the general elections each county elects a clerk of the Circuit Court, auditor, and recorder to serve four years each, and a treasurer, sheriff, coroner, and surveyor to serve two years each. A new system of local government aiming at a more complete separation of the executive and legislative functions became operative in 1899. Legislative boards are ​elected for each of the townships and for the county as a whole. They control expenditure and the levying of taxes. The local executive officers cannot create debts without the permission of these legislative bodies.
Finance. In January, 1901, the total State debt amounted to $4,504,015. Of this $1,085,000 cannot be paid off until 1915, and $144,000 cannot be paid off until 1937, and bonds held by Purdue University representing an additional $340,000 run perpetually. In October, 1901, there was a balance in the treasury of $611,649. For finance of education and charitable and penal institutions, see paragraphs under those headings.
Population. In one or two respects Indiana differs much from other Northern States in point of population. It has been less affected by immigration, the native-born population being proportionally greater than that of any other Northern State. Furthermore, the population is peculiar in that a large per cent. came from the South — Kentucky, North Carolina, and Virginia — while generally being unaffected by the westward wave from New England and New York. Again, the proportion of urban population — 30.6 per cent. in cities of only 4000 inhabitants (1900) — is less than that of any other of the Northwest Territory States. Of the 146,000 foreign born, the Germans constitute about one-half. The following shows the growth of population: In 1800, 2517; 1820, 147,178; 1840, 685,866; 1860, 1,350,428; 1880, 1,978,301; 1890, 2,192,404; 1900, 2,516,462—males, 1,285,404; females, 1,231,058; colored, 57,960. Indianapolis (the capital) in 1900 had 169,164; Evansville, 59,007; Fort Wayne, 45,115; Terre Haute, 36,673; South Bend, 35,999.
The State has thirteen Representatives in the National House of Representatives.
Religion. The Methodists from the pioneer days to the present have been the leading denomination, having more members in Indiana in proportion to the total State membership of all churches than in any other Northern State. In recent years the Christian Church has had a phenomenal growth. The Catholics are proportionally weaker than in any other Northern commonwealth. Altogether 55 different denominations are represented. Besides those mentioned, the most important are the Lutherans, Baptists, Presbyterians, United Brethren, and Friends.
Education. In recent years the educational status of Indiana has improved very rapidly. The percentage of illiteracy for the age period of ten years and over decreased from 7.5 per cent. in 1880 to 4.6 per cent. in 1900. The percentage of illiteracy of the colored population was 22.6. In 1899 there was 73 per cent. of all persons between the ages of six and twenty-one enrolled in the State schools, as against 71 per cent. in 1879, and the per cent. of attendance on the basis of enrollment increased during the same period from 61 per cent. to 76 per cent. This increase is partially the result of the recent compulsory education laws, which compel children between the ages of six and fourteen to attend the full term of the local school. The average length of the school term increased from 132 days in 1879 to 152 in 1900. A State law now requires a minimum term of six months, but there is still a decided contrast between the average length of the rural and the city schools. A carefully graded system is now universal throughout the State, and through the agency of a competent corps of county superintendents an efficient supervision of schools is effected. A serious problem has arisen in consequence of the very general decrease in the attendance at the rural schools. In 1899 there were 1848 schools having less than 15 pupils each. The solution of the problem is being found in the abandonment of the small schools and the transportation, of the pupils to one centrally located school.
The greatest progress has been made in the high-school system of the State. Township high schools are now common. In 1899 there were 717 high schools, with courses of from two to four years in length, and 150 other schools in which some high-school work was done. High schools giving four-year courses and maintaining a certain standard of proficiency are granted commissions upon the approval of the State Board of Education. In the above year there were 156 commissioned high schools.
A considerable number of the teachers of the State have received collegiate and normal-school training. A more satisfactory system of examinations for teachers' certificates has been introduced, extending the jurisdiction of the State in the granting of certificates. At present life licenses are granted by the State Board of Education, as are also licenses for eight years and for sixty months. State licenses are issued by the State superintendent of public instruction for periods ranging from sixty to twelve months in length, while the county superintendent issues certificates for terms of from thirty-six to six months. The State maintains a normal school at Terre Haute, which in 1900 had an enrollment of 1672. Among the private normal schools are the Northern Indiana Normal School, at Valparaiso; the Tri-State Normal, at Angola; Rochester Normal University, at Rochester; and the Eastern Indiana Normal University, at Muncie. In 1900 the total number of male teachers was 7208; female, 8409.
The total expenditure for schools in 1900 was $8,188,089, of which $4,800,965 went to teachers and superintendents. A comparative study of the last few decades of the nineteenth century shows that the rate of the State tax for common schools is decreasing, necessitating heavier local burdens, the sum raised by local taxes having increased fourfold during that period ($2,542,552 in 1899). It is also found that the per capita cost of education has greatly increased in the rural districts and decreased in the cities. Indiana has fortunately provided a large permanent school fund, amounting in 1900 to $10,359,959. Of this $2,467,655, called the Congressional Township Fund, was secured from the sale in each township of the sixteenth section of land. The remainder ($7,892,303), called the Common School Fund, is composed of the county seminary fund, saline fund, bank-tax fund, surplus-revenue fund, and the sinking fund.
Higher education is provided by the State University at Bloomington, and technical instruction by Purdue University at Lafayette. There are numerous higher denominational institutions, including De Pauw University (Methodist), at Greencastle; Notre Dame University (Roman Catholic), near South Bend; Indianapolis University (including Butler College, Christian); Earlham College, at Richmond (Friends); ​Wabash College, Crawfordsville; Hanover College (Presbyterian); and Franklin College (Baptist). Vincennes University, at Vincennes, and Rose Polytechnic Institute, at Terre Haute, are non-sectarian.
Charitable and Penal Institutions. Indiana has only recently begun a serious study of correctional and charitable problems. Formerly the township trustees distributed alms without let or hindrance, the burden of which was borne by the county. At present the township bears the expense of caring for its own poor, outdoor relief is discouraged, and uniform and detailed reports are made to county and State officers. Judges of the Circuit Court are now authorized to appoint boards of county charity, whose members are unsalaried. The State has pursued a policy of placing children in families rather than retaining them in institutions, and all children not defectives have been removed from the poor asylums. In 1900 the number of children in orphans' homes was 1682. The former prison at Jeffersonville has been transformed into a reformatory for first-offense cases, and is conducted very much on the ‘Elmira’ plan. The State has a parole law. There is a State board of charities appointed by the Governor, which has the power to investigate and supervise the charitable and correctional institutions of the State. These institutions are as follows: Hospitals for the insane at Richmond, Logansport, Evansville, and Indianapolis; a State Soldiers' Home, at Lafayette; School for the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind, at Indianapolis; School for Feeble-Minded Youths, at Fort Wayne; Soldiers' Orphans' Home, at Knightstown; Girls' Reform School, at Indianapolis; Boys' Reform School, at Plainfield; Woman's Prison, at Indianapolis; State prison, at Michigan City; and the State Reformatory, at Jeffersonville. Of these, all but the State prison are under the control of non-partisan boards. The expenditure incurred by these institutions in 1900 was $1,648,455, of which $1,290,790 was for maintenance. The earnings of the institutions for the same year amounted to $132,489. The expenditure for outdoor relief for the year ending in October, 1900, was $209,956, or only one-third as great as it was in 1895. The number of inmates (3096 in 1900) in the county poor asylums decreased relative to the total population during the same period. In 1900 the expenditure for gross maintenance of county poor asylums amounted to $345,496.
History. French trappers and fur-traders appeared within the present limits of Indiana as early probably as 1679. It is certain that La Salle, on his way to the Illinois Indians, crossed the northwestern part of the State by way of the Kankakee in 1680. The Miamis and Ouabachi (or Wabash) Indians then occupied the region, and welcomed the French, who built Fort Ouatanon, on the Wabash, in 1720, and Fort Vincennes in 1727. The first permanent settlement was founded in 1734-35, by a number of families who made their home in the neighborhood of Fort Vincennes. The population increased slowly; but, owing to the richness of the soil, the inhabitants (French entirely, together with negro and Indian slaves) enjoyed ease and great plenty. The territory came into the possession of England in 1763, but the English occupation was too brief to effect any change in the people or the laws. In 1778-79 George Rogers Clark (q.v.), with a handful of men, wrested the country from Great Britain. Hostilities with the Indians, continuing from 1781 to 1795, when a peace was conquered by General Wayne, brought great distress upon the settlers at Vincennes. In May, 1800, the Indiana Territory was organized, comprising all that portion of the Northwest Territory lying west and north of Ohio. Michigan and Illinois were subsequently set off, reducing Indiana to its present extent. The capital was moved from Vincennes to Corydon in 1813 and to Indianapolis in 1825. In 1811 Gen. William H. Harrison (q.v.), at the head of a force of regulars and militia, crushed the Indian tribes under the brother of Tecumseh at the battle of Tippecanoe (q.v.). When the war with England broke out the Indians renewed hostilities, but they were speedily subdued, and never more troubled the settlers. As in the case of Illinois, a large proportion of the immigrants into Indiana came from the South, and before 1816 repeated attempts were made to legalize slavery in the Territory, in spite of the ordinance of 1787. In 1816, the year of the State's admission into the Union, the question was definitely settled against slavery by the first constitutional convention, though a law prohibiting negroes and mulattoes from immigrating into the State remained in force till after the Civil War. The growth of the State in wealth and population was accelerated greatly by the construction of the National Road and the Wabash and Erie canals. Wild speculation in lands and railroads led to a general bankruptcy in 1837; but after 1846, when a compromise with the public creditors was effected, the economic and financial condition of the State improved steadily. Its prosperity since the Civil War has been due in great measure to the discovery of extensive coal, iron, and gas fields, and valuable deposits of building-stone, in different parts of the State. Conditions have been monotonously peaceful, except for spasmodic eruptions of mob violence, notably in the years 1869 and 1888, and the disorders around Hammond attending the great railway strike of 1894, when strikers and Federal troops came into conflict. As a result of the strike, a board of labor commissioners was created in 1897, to act as a permanent tribunal of arbitration. In the same year an anti-trust law and a factory-inspection law were passed, and primary education was made compulsory. For more than twenty years after 1878 the State balanced almost perfectly between the two great political parties, vacillating, in State elections especially, from side to side by minute majorities in a total vote of several hundred thousand. The opportunity for political manipulation was correspondingly great, and in national elections every device known to practical politics was brought into play to gain the electoral vote of the State. Law-making was carried on frequently in a partisan spirit, and it was a favorite manœuvre with the minority in the Legislature, Republican or Democrat, whenever it was hopelessly outnumbered on an important question, to resign in a body, so as to prevent a quorum and thus block legislation. In national elections the State was Democratic up to 1860, excepting in the years 1836 and 1840, when it cast its vote for William H. Harrison, the Whig candidate. It was Republican from 1860 to 1872, Democratic in 1876, 1884, and 1892, and Republican again in 1880, 1888, 1896, and ​1900. The Governors, since its organization as a Territory, have been as follows:
TERRITORIAL :
| William H. Harrison | William H. Harrison | 1800-1811 |
| John Gibson | | 1811-1813 |
| Thomas Posey | | 1813-1816 |
| STATE |||
| Jonathan Jennings, | Democrat-Republican, | 1816-1822 |
| William Hendricks, | ““ | 1822-1825 |
| James B. Ray, | ““ | 1825-1831 |
| Noah Noble, | ““ | 1831-1837 |
| David Wallace, | Whig, | 1837-1840 |
| Samuel Bigger, | “ | 1840-1843 |
| James Whitcomb, | Democrat, | 1843-1849 |
| Joseph A. Wright, | “ | 1849-1857 |
| Ashbel P. Willard, | “ | 1857-1861 |
| Henry S. Lane, | Republican, | 1861 |
| Oliver P. Morton, | “ | 1861-1867 |
| Conrad Baker, | “ | 1867-1873 |
| Thomas A. Hendricks, | Democrat, | 1873-1877 |
| James D. Williams, | “ | 1877-1881 |
| Albert G. Porter, | Republican, | 1881-1885 |
| Isaac P. Gray, | Democrat, | 1885-1889 |
| Alvin P. Hovey, | Republican, | 1889-1891 |
| Ira J. Chase, | “ | 1891-1893 |
| Claude Matthews, | Democrat, | 1893-1897 |
| James A. Mount, | Republican, | 1897-1901 |
| Winfield T. Durbin, | “ | 1901- |
Bibliography. Smith, Early Indiana Trials and Sketches (Cincinnati, 1858); Dillon, History of Indiana (Indianapolis, 1859); Dunn, Indiana (Boston, 1888); Foulke, Life of Oliver P. Morton (Indianapolis, 1899); Ball, Northwestern Indiana (Chicago, 1900); Indiana Historical Society Publications (Indianapolis, 1900 et seq.).