Towns and Places of the Hoosier State Quiz

Answer: Speedway

Welcome to the city nicknamed the "Racing Capital of the World". Speedway is home to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, which hosts the famous Indianapolis 500 automobile races. The speedway is a 2.5 mile oval. The Indianapolis 500 race is usually held around Memorial Day in the United States, and attracts visitors from many parts of the world. Contestants start off in an eleven lane grid and race 500 miles.

It is Indiana's largest single day sport event. On the grounds is the Indiana Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum.

It contains many of the winning cars from its history. When the race began in the 1910s, the average winning speed was 75 miles per an hour, and the first place winner took home an average prize of $14,000. By the 2000s, the average winning speed was 167 miles per hour and the winners have taken home over one million dollars.

Answer: Santa Claus

Santa Claus was originally known as Santa Fe, but when it applied for a Postal Office, the United States Post Office told town leaders to pick another name. Santa Claus has been a home to Holiday World, an amusement theme park, and Santa's Candy Castle.

Here tourists can enjoy concerts, water rides, and roller coasters. They also can a see the jolly man in a red suit all year round. All this time we thought he lived in the North Pole! (But possibly Santa can be in two places at once, since he is Santa after all!) :)

Answer: Nappanee

Amish Acres is located in Nappanee, Indiana. The Amish are Christians who have adapted to lifestyles without modern technology. They were founded by Anabaptist Jakob Ammann in the 1690s in Switzerland. Many of them immigrated to the United States for a better chance at religious freedom. Amish wear plain dress and promote living a simplified life of farming, trade, and business. They have a church in their homes, let by a bishop. In Nappanee, tourists can see farming lifestyles, take carriage rides, and seasonally enjoy festivals. In the historical school house, there is also a theater where live dramas are performed.

(Random fact: Nappanee is the longest city name in the United States where each letter is repeated twice.)

Answer: Corydon

Indianapolis was actually the third capital city in the Hoosier State. It was preceded by the cities of Corydon and Vincennes.

Indianapolis was designed by Alexander Ralston. He had apprenticed under Pierre L'Enfant, the French architect who designed Washington D.C. The capital was moved to Indianapolis so that it would be in the center of the state and have more opportunities for trade. However, after the capital moved, there was not a reliable source of water for river businesses. The White River proved to be too sandy and low for river boats to travel on.

Some of the notable places in Indianapolis are Crown Hill Cemetery and the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Some of the people buried at Crown Hill Cemetery include James Basket (African American actor who played Uncle Remus in Disney's "Song of the South"), Benjamin Harrison (23rd President of the United States), Garfield T. Haywood (hymn writer and founder of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World), Edward "Cannonball" Baker (one of the first winners of the Indy 500 races), and Jefferson C. Davis (Civil War general).

The Children's Museum has been recognized as one of the largest of its kind in the world. Located in downtown Indianapolis, it is over 500,000 square feet in size, and features over 100,000 exhibits and artifacts. It has won several awards by magazines and organizations for being one of the top children's museums in the country. In 2014, it won the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, which is one of the highest honors in the United States.

(Extra fun facts: The Raggedy Ann doll was created in 1914 by Marcella Gruelle from Indianapolis. David Letterman, host for a night talk show on CBS, was also born in Indianapolis in 1947.)

Answer: Gary

Gary, Indiana was founded by the United States Steel Corporation. The city started out as being the location of its company headquarters and was named after the founding chairman, Elbert Henry Gary. The city growth and economy rose and fell with the steel industry.

Pop star Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958. His father was a guitarist, but never took off on a musical career because he focused on providing for his family. The Jackson's had a humble two bedroom home on 2300 Jackson Street. Michael began singing when he was five years old in his brothers' band The Jackson Five. He later developed his talent and became known as "The King of Pop" in his adult career. Although he went onto stages and spotlights, the town of Gary preserved the Jackson home. It was still a site for tourists at the time of Jackson's death in 2009.

Answer: South Bend

South Bend is located on the bend of the St. Joseph River next to the Indiana border. The St. Joseph River runs from Lake Michigan, curves at the northern part of Indiana, then rises back up into the middle of Michigan. The total length of the river is about 206 miles. It was an important canoe route for Native Americans and a very fertile piece of farmland.

South Bend has grown to be one of Indiana's largest cities. The business of health care has contributed to the city's growth, along with the city's location next to Notre Dame University, the school of Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State. South Bend is also the place of burial for Schuyler Colfax, the 17th vice president of the United States. He served under President Ulysses S. Grant from March 4, 1869 to March 4, 1873.

(This question was created in honor of my friend Airgood.)

Answer: Alexandria

Alexandria is a small town located in the middle of Indiana. It has been home to one of Indiana's most unusual attractions, the largest ball of paint, recorded by "Guinness Book of World Records" in 2004. Michael Carmichael started out painting a baseball in 1977 with his son. Over months and years, they dipped the ball in paint and added layers. Michael Carmichael has continued to paint the ball for many years. His son is now grown and has a family of his own. The ball hangs on a chain, weighs over 1,300 lbs, and has over 23,000 coats.

Alexandria was also the birthplace of Bill Gaither, a well-known Gospel singer and hymn writer. He and his wife Gloria lived in Alexandria many years while doing their music writing career. By 2012, Bill and his wife Gloria had written over 700 songs, including "Because He Lives" and "Jesus, There's Just Something About That Name".

Answer: Brazil

Brazil was actually named after the first farm in the area in the 1840s. The farmers had decided to name it Brazil because it had been a popular subject in the news when Brazil became a city in 1866. Later the country of Brazil honored the town and offered them some of its currency as a gift of friendship. The city has grown to be the county seat located on US Historic Route 40. Ironically, Brazil often has humid summers and cold winters because of its geographic location.

(Random Fact: In 2010, Brazil allowed the company of Kentucky Fried Chicken to put its logo and fiery grilled wings on the city's fire hydrants.)

Answer: Evansville

Evansville is known as the "River City" because of its location on an oxbow in the Ohio River. French explorers called it the "Beautiful River"; they came to trade furs with the Native American tribes living in the area. These Native American groups included Shawnees, Miamis, Pottawattomies, Delawares, and Kickapoos.

Because of the Ohio River, Evansville was a prominent city in river trade after the Civil War. During the 1900s, Evansville attracted many immigrants with its industries and railroads. Germans, Irish, and newly freed slaves from the south came to the city looking for new opportunities. During World War II, Evansville was a manufacturing center for weapons, tanks, and ammunition. After the war, Evansville's plants switched to making automobiles, household appliances, and farming equipment, which kept the city's economy going. Today Evansville is still a large center of trade for the states of Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

(Extra Fun Facts:

Svetlana Stalin, daughter of the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, married William Wesley Peters, an architect from Evansville, Indiana.

Evansville is thought to be one of the first United States' cities to have telephones in its public schools.)

Answer: Nashville

Nashville is the only incorporated city in Brown County, Indiana.

When the territory was first opened up to settlers in the 1820s, the area of Brown County attracted pioneers from Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and the Carolinas. The county was named for General Jacob Brown, an American general who defeated the British at the Battle of Sackett's Harbor in the War of 1812.

Nashville did not retain farmers because of the logging industry and the weather's effect on the land. Artists settled into the area, and Nashville became home to the Brown County Art Colony in 1907. In later years, the colony attracted tourists with cabins, nature trails, homemade preserves, antique shopping, and reenactments of how settlers used to do things. Because of the colony's work, many of the city's historical sites have been preserved, including the city's first jail.