Indiana Facts and Figures

1876 artwork by Henry Mitchell, via Wikipedia Commons

 Indiana ranks 24th among states and provinces with markers in this database. Indiana is a state in the United States of America located in the American Midwest. It is also in the Great Lakes region. Indiana is some 36 thousand square miles in size with a population of around 6.7 million people. The state is divided into 92 counties and all of them have entries in this database. In Indiana we have discovered historical markers in 346 cities and towns lying in 353 different ZIP Codes.

How many historical markers are there in Indiana? There are least 1,626 of them, by our count. We have cataloged 1,596 historical markers and 259 war memorials—each individually presented on 1,847 illustrated, annotated, and searchable pages of the Historical Marker Database. Pages for historical markers from this state make up 1.2% of our total. In addition, we are reasonably certain of another 30 historical markers in Indiana that we don’t yet have, and instead show on our Want List. Our correspondents have been finding and adding hundreds of markers a month to the database from all over the world, so next time you visit this page you will probably find that the numbers here have changed.

The first Indiana marker in the database, Three White Men Were Hung Here, was added February 22, 2006. It was photographed in Pendleton in Madison County. The last one added was submitted on November 29, 2019, and titled Drovers Inn. It is near Aurora in Dearborn County and had been erected in 1966. Keeping in mind that the erection date of many markers in the database is not known, the earliest historical marker we know of in Indiana was erected in 1864. It was this one: Civil War Honor Roll Memorial, and one of our correspondents found it in Princeton in Gibson County on October 10, 2011.

Hoosiers don’t want to forget their Settlements and Settlers history. How do we know? Because there are more historical markers in the database from Indiana about Settlements and Settlers—319 of them—than about any other historical category. It is followed by Industry and Commerce with 228 markers.

The first marker added to the database with the Settlements and Settlers category was Public Square, added April 7, 2006. It had been erected in 1976 in Anderson in Madison County. The last one submitted was submitted on October 25, 2019, and titled Micajah Chamness Sr. It had been erected in 1936 in Alexandria in Madison County. The earliest marker erected with the Settlements and Settlers category that we have listed was erected in 1900. It is Frances Slocum Monument, was found near Somerset in Wabash County on July 10, 2015.

What is the most interesting historical marker in Indiana? What we know is that Three White Men Were Hung Here is the most viewed entry in the database from Indiana since it was added in 2006. This year so far, the most viewed Hoosier entry is located in Scottsburg in Scott County. It is Scott County War Memorial.

The Indiana county with the most historical markers listed in this database is Marion County, with 210 of them. It is followed by Elkhart County with 77 markers. The Indianapolis area of Marion County has the highest number of markers within its limits, 204. In Elkhart County the area with the most markers, 28, is Goshen.

Checking the database for the city or town in Indiana with the most markers we again find Indianapolis at the top of the list with 204 markers in or near it. It is followed by Fort Wayne in Allen County with 53 markers. For the ZIP Code with the most markers it’s 46204 at the top of the list with 79 markers in its delivery area. (ZIP Code 46204 is assigned to Indianapolis IN.) It is followed by ZIP Code 46202 with 64 markers. (46202 is assigned to Indianapolis IN.)

Getting back to Marion County, the first marker added to the database from there, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, was added April 7, 2006. It was erected in 1975 in Indianapolis. The last one submitted was uploaded on April 27, 2019, and is titled World War II Memorial and was erected in 1946, in Indianapolis. The earliest marker erected in Marion County that we have listed was erected in 1902. It was Soldiers and Sailors Monument, found in Indianapolis on July 18, 2017.

By Tom Bosse, April 21, 2019

Latest Entry from Indiana
“Drovers Inn”

And finally the first, last, and oldest markers from Fort Wayne. The first: These are the Hamilton Women of Fort Wayne, was added March 12, 2009. The last: John B. Franke added on July 10, 2018. The earliest marker erected was erected in 1906: Wayne Trace, added on February 17, 2012.

The Indiana Historical Bureau is currently in charge of official historical markers found all over the state. You will also find official markers erected by the Indiana Historical Society, a predecessor. We have 417 of their markers in the database. Also, a number of counties have erected historical markers on their streets and roads and within their public areas, as have some cities and towns.

By Pat Filippone, November 25, 2016

A Indiana Historical Bureau Historical Marker

Then there are federal government agencies that put up historical markers, especially in national parks and other areas under their jurisdiction. And finally, there are the numerous public and private organizations and individuals that erect markers. Some do this as a continual endeavor, and others once in a while, to mark something, someone, or someplace they find important or interesting. When one of our correspondents comes across one that satisfies our criteria, we add it to the database.

You’ll find that even the smallest, least populated, or most rural areas of Indiana have been marked with history. Check out Howard County, Newton County and Crawford County. We've only found, respectively, 2, 2, and 1 historical markers there. Visiting one or more of these parts of Indiana might make for a pleasant road trip, and maybe you’ll discover more historical markers while you’re there. If you do, perhaps you’ll take the time to photograph them and, when you get home, become an HMdb correspondent by adding them to the database. Happy Hunting!