Indiana Trivia & Tidbits

Looking for Indiana trivia? Try our list Indiana little know facts, tidbits and trivia.

In 2001, roller coaster enthusiast John Ivers of Bruceville (pop. 469) built his own backyard roller coaster, which zips over his barn and makes a 360-degree loop. He built a smaller kiddie roller coaster in 2007.

first appeared: 10/18/2009

Nearly 100 miles of marked trails await horseback riders at Clark State Forest near Henryville (pop. 1,545).

first appeared: 10/4/2009

The Bridgeton Covered Bridge in Parke County (pop. 17,241) is built over a waterfall on Big Raccoon Creek and is billed as the state's most famous covered bridge. When the original 1868 bridge was destroyed by fire in 2005, volunteers raised money and rebuilt it.

first appeared: 9/20/2009

When Brittani McCalister graduated in May from West Vigo High School in Terre Haute (pop. 59,614), she had a perfect attendance record. In 13 years, she never missed a single day of school-and that's 2,340 school days.

first appeared: 9/6/2009

The oldest county in the state is Knox County (pop. 39,256), organized in 1790 by Secretary of the Northwest Territory Winthrop Sargent. The county is named in honor of Gen. Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War.

first appeared: 8/23/2009

The town of Reo in Spencer County (pop. 20,391) got its name from the acronym of three nearby cities: Rockport (pop. 2,160), Evansville (pop. 121,582), and Owensboro, Ky. (pop. 54,067).

first appeared: 8/9/2009

The state's first saint is Mother Theodore Guerin, a Roman Catholic nun who founded what is now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute (pop. 59,614) in 1840. Guerin was canonized in 2006 by Pope Benedict XVI.

first appeared: 7/26/2009

—"Whirling Star" and "Grandmother's Fan" are among quilt patterns sown with flowers, instead of fabric, in "quilt gardens" in the Amish communities of Elkhart (pop. 51,874), Shipshewana (pop. 536), Nappanee (pop. 6,710), Wakarusa (pop. 1,618), Middlebury (pop. 2,956) and Goshen (pop. 29,383).

first appeared: 7/12/2009

—The nation's largest manufacturer and distributor of coffins is Batesville Casket Co., which makes 1,000 caskets a day. Founded in 1884 and headquartered in Batesville (pop. 6,033), the company was bought by Hillenbrand Industries in 1906.

first appeared: 6/28/2009

—The Civil War's longest sustained cavalry raid passed through southeastern Indiana in 1863 and can be retraced along the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. The trail follows Confederate Gen. Morgan's 1,000-mile route, which began in Kentucky and ended with his capture in northeastern Ohio.

first appeared: 6/14/2009

—Miss Indiana, Katie Stam, 22, a communications major at the University of Indianapolis, is traveling and making public appearances across the United States this year as the reigning Miss America. Stam is a native of Seymour (pop. 18,101).

first appeared: 5/31/2009

—Visitors can see harps being crafted at Harps on Main, home to Harpsicle Harp Co. and William Rees Instruments in Rising Sun (pop. 2,470). Rees has been building stringed instruments since 1972.

first appeared: 5/17/2009

—The tradition for winners of the Indianapolis 500 to drink milk in the Victory Lane began in 1936 when Louis Meyer, Indy's first three-time winner, refreshed himself with cold buttermilk after a win.

first appeared: 5/3/2009

–Founded in 1839, the Historic Lafayette Farmers' Market in Lafayette (pop. 56,397) is one of the oldest farmers markets in the state and operates from May through October.

first appeared: 4/19/2009

—Inland Aquatics, in Terre Haute (pop. 59,614), is home to America's largest living coral reef display and saltwater fish hatchery, with more than 35,000 gallons of saltwater aquariums.

first appeared: 4/5/2009

—Built in 1885 with a grant from philanthropist Willard Carpenter, Willard Library in Evansville is the state's oldest public library building.

first appeared: 3/22/2009

—The “mother” of Dick and Jane, a popular book series that helped children learn to read during the 1930s to 1960s, was Zerna Sharp, born in 1889 in Hillisburg, in Clinton County (pop. 33,866). Sharp conceived the idea for the books because she thought children would enjoy reading if they could identify with the characters. She oversaw the series while working for Scott Foresman Publishing.

first appeared: 3/8/2009

—The state’s oldest restaurant is the Log Inn in Warrenton, built by Henry Haub in 1825 as a stagecoach stop. The inn has been in continuous use since its founding and was visited by Abraham Lincoln in 1844.

first appeared: 2/22/2009

—Exhibits about the beginning of scientific psychiatry and modern medicine are showcased at the Indiana Medical History Museum in the former Central State Hospital’s Old Pathology Building in Indianapolis. The 1895-1896 building is one of the oldest surviving pathology laboratories in the nation.

first appeared: 2/8/2009

—The first mass-produced RCA color television was manufactured in 1954 in RCA’s factory in Bloomington (pop. 69,291). The set had 1,012 parts, 36 vacuum tubes, 150 feet of wire and cost $1,000.

first appeared: 1/11/2009

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