Only 253 square miles of its 35,932 square miles is water. What we do Geography Rock wool, now known as asbestos, was first manufactured in the United States at Crystal Chemical Works in Alexandria, Ind., in 1897. The Ball canning jar became popular after the five Ball brothers moved their manufacturing company from Buffalo. N.Y., to Muncie, Ind. Ball State University took its name from the company and its owners. Indiana is primarily and agricultural and industrial state.
Principal crops are corn and soybeans.
Primary manufactured goods include steel, tranportation equipment, electrical and electronic equipment, plastics, chemical products, pharmaceuticals and foods. Indiana has three distinct geograhpic areas. The central area is a low plain with small rivers and a few hills. The southern third is full of valleys and hills. The settlement at New Harmony in 1825 by Robert Owen was the nation's first non-religious commune.