Welcome!
Continuing my series of state fact bits (really, what else should I call them?) today let’s focus on the “I” states:
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
As before, I am going alphabetically.
IDAHO
Twin Falls, Idaho
I discovered something about myself. I love waterfalls! When gathering photos for each state, it seemed like they were all waterfalls - and they were! The ones shown above are just gorgeous and represent the state quite well.
Idaho is the 14th largest state, out of 50 total. It sits in an area called ‘the Pacific Northwest’.
In 1863 President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill making Idaho a US territory. 27 years later (in 1890) it became the 43rd state to join the Union. In those 27 years there were 16 governors, and 4 of them never even visited Idaho!
Courtesy James DeSanti
It’s called ‘the Gem State’ because you can find more than 72 different precious and semi-precious gems in this state. One of the largest diamonds ever found in the US (nearly 20 carats) was found near McCall, Idaho.
To give you some idea, this is a cut 19 carat diamond ring. Of course the diamond found was in the rough.
Idaho has more whitewater river miles than any other state. It has lakes, hot springs, volcanoes, forests, waterfalls and lots of farmland. There is even part of the Rocky Mountains that extends into central Idaho.
ILLINOIS
Amos W. Woodward Millhouse history museum, Rockford, Illinois
Illinois was the 21st state to join the USA, in 1818 when James Monroe was President (he was the 5th). The name “Illinois” comes from an Algonquin Indian word. It could mean ‘warrior’, ‘tribe of superior men’ or ‘best people’. Any of those interpretations are pretty cool sounding. Oh, and when you say ‘Illinois’ you do NOT pronounce the ‘s’ at the end.
Many famous people have been born in Illinois. To name just a few, they are:
Ronald Reagan, Harrison Ford, Charlie Kirk, Cindy Crawford, Jean M. Auel, Amelia Earhart, Walt Disney, L.Frank Baum, Jack Benny, Emil J. Brach, Marlon Brando, Edgar Rice Burroughs— and I’m not even mentioning all the sports coaches and players.
The state capital is Springfield. Abraham Lincoln lived here for 24 years. There are many official sites and historical places that commemorate him, including his Presidential Library and Tomb.
State Capitol, Springfield, Illinois
Illinois has no National Parks, but does have over 65 State Parks and around 50 protected areas. You can find here canyons, unusual rock formations, the Mississippi River, Lake Michigan and waterfalls. There are many scenic routes, hiking trails and the historic Route 66.
(You knew I had to slip in a waterfall, right?)
Fun trivia:
The first McDonald’s franchise was opened in 1955 in Des Plaines, IL.
Can’t feature Illinois without mentioning Chicago. I spent more than a couple of nights in the O’Hare International Airport, sleeping on benches, the floor and luggage carousels. Why? Because we were there to pick up my dad from a business trip, and it would become snowbound with no planes landing and we were stuck! (I was 1-4 years old).
Ah, the good time memories!
Chicago’s O’Hare airport has 8 runways, the most of any airport in the whole world. That translates to:
A lot of planes.
INDIANA
Indiana, Illinois and Iowa are all part of the US known as the Midwest Region. Indiana is known as
The Hoosier State.
Hoosier? What does that mean? Well, there’s a good debate that goes on about where that word even came from. In 1833 a fellow by the name of John Finley wrote a poem. It became popular and was titled “The Hoosier’s Nest”. Also in that year the Indianapolis Journal started using Hoosier to describe people who lived in Illinois. The then governor of Illinois began publishing a newspaper (in 1833) called “The Hoosier”.
Busy year for Hoosiers.
Colonel Sanders, of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was actually born in the small town of Henryville, IN. Orville Redenbacher, of popcorn fame, was born in Brazil, IN.
Want to eat like a Hoosier? Then help yourself to a slice of ‘Hoosier’ pie (a sugar cream pie).
Can’t write a blog about Indiana without mentioning the Indy 500. This is a motor racing circuit built in 1909 by Carl G. Fisher. It is the 3rd oldest permanent automobile racetrack built in the world. Home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400 (formerly known as the United States Grand Prix) it is a course 2.5 miles in a rectangular oval. While some modifications have been made it is essentially the same since it was built.
Indiana has quite a population of bats, both cave-dwelling and migratory (they move according to the seasons). There are still caves being discovered, with the longest one ever, Indiana Caverns, having an underground river you can even explore with a boat! Found in 2010 it contains bones and fossils they think are from the Ice Age.
I love bats, so let’s find out a bit more about them. There are 12 different species in Indiana. Out of that 9 are either federally endangered and/or state special concern (almost endangered). 2 of them have not been seen in Indiana since 1962 and 1977. That’s really sad. These bats eat insects. Literally tons of them. It is estimated bats save the US agriculture $3.7 billion every year due to the amount of insects they eat. I would say that makes them pretty important to us.
Indiana has more than 500 lakes, carved out by pre-historic glaciers.
The first successful goldfish farm was opened in Martinsville, IN in 1899. No mention of what defines success, vs. failure. But then, if I failed at goldfish farming I probably would not go around telling a lot of people about it…
IOWA
Iowa was the 29th state to join the USA in 1846. It is known as ‘The Salt State’ due to the large salt deposits explored in the 1800’s. It is also known as ‘The Hawkeye State’. Why Hawkeye? A couple of reasons. First, to honor Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk Indian tribe who was a warrior in the Black Hawk War of 1832. Secondly, after the fictional scout ‘Hawkeye’ from James Fenimore Cooper’s novel ‘the Last of the Mohicans’, published in 1826. Another possible influence was Stephen Sumner Phelps, a Mississippi River fur trader that local Indians nicknamed “Hawkeye” due to his excellent marksmanship. Around 1838 territory officials accepted the term as describing their upcoming state.
And Iowa? It is translated from a word that means
‘Bah-kho-ji Tribe’. Okay, the Who? Well, first the Baxoje is a term that means ‘grey snow’, a reference to how their lodges look in the winter amidst the cooking smoke. They are also called the Ioway Tribe. This is a French adaptation of the Dakota Sioux word for this tribe (which means sleepy ones). They probably were not BFFs. It certainly is not what they called themselves.
Sooo I still have never heard of them.
Oh, but they were part of a set of tribes closely related to the Winnebago Indians, and other Missouri tribes.
Those I have heard of!
These peoples are now known as the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Iowa tribe of Oklahoma. (They were forcibly removed from their homelands in the 1820s - 1830s).
Oh what a mess of things our forefathers created back then.
‘Our liberties we prize,
and our rights we will maintain.’
That’s the state motto incorporated into the Great Seal of the State of Iowa in 1847. Iowa is a state of covered bridges, rolling farmland, and border defining rivers (the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers). 85% of its land is used for agriculture. Their State Fair has a good reputation and features a 600 pound butter sculpture of a cow. Wonder what happens to it after the Fair is over?
Many things have been invented in Iowa. To name just a few, Iowans have invented (1903) Crayola crayons, (1920s) root beer floats, (1938) chocolate chip cookies, (1930s) a combine (machine to help harvest crops), and (1943) the Slinky.
As always, I could write an entire blog on just one of these states. I hope your curiosity is tickled and you check out more things about our states than I have mentioned.
Personally, I have lived in 9 different states, and visited 15 other states. That makes 24 out of 50. I think I better start planning some more road trips….
‘Til next time,
inkspired
