Test your Indiana IQ

Historian James Madison’s newest book, Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana, is full of insights on Indiana’s rich past. Madison says his book is the culmination of research that brings new knowledge about our state into focus, making history more intriguing and connecting it to our times.

1. In what year did Indiana’s capital move from Corydon to Indianapolis?

A. 1825

B. 1826

C. 1803

D. 1814

2. Where was Indiana’s first newspaper published?

A. Vincennes

B. Bloomington

C. Columbus

D. St. Paul

3. What transportation device was used to travel downriver carrying large amounts of product?

A. Keelboat

B. Steamboat

C. Flatboat

D. Raft

4. Which of the following counties had the most sites on the Underground Railroad?

A. Dubois

B. Washington

C. Knox

D. Jefferson

5. This Terre Haute author wrote mostly about poverty and crime in Indiana cities. He returned home in 1915 to reacquaint himself with the beauty of the state.

A. Kurt Vonnegut

B. Theodore Dreiser

C. Nathanial Grisby

D. Joseph A. Wright

6. Bruceville is home to the largest statue of which item at a local produce store?

A. Banana

B. Watermelon

C. Apple

D. Peach

7. Which Southern Indiana town has a sister city in Pfaffenweiler, Germany?

A. Jasper

B. French Lick

C. Petersburg

D. Shoals

8. Madison is home to which sporting tradition, dating back to 1911?

A. Half marathons

B. Powerboat racing

C. Sailboat racing

D. Kite flying

Answer key:

1. a. Vincennes was the capital when Indiana was only a territory. 2. a. The Indiana Gazette was published in Vincennes in 1804. A subscription cost $2.50 and could be paid up to six month in advance. 3. c. Abe Lincoln made a two-month trip in a flatboat down the Mississippi River to New Orleans in 1828. 4. d. Four sites were located near Madison and Lancaster. 5. b. Sadly, Dreiser also suffered from intense suicidal depression. 6. d. The Big Peach is open from May to October and sells pies, canned fruits, jellies and more. The peach is a tourist attraction for Hoosiers and other travelers passing by. 7. a. Pfaffenweiler residents settled in this German-American community in 1846. Mass was said in German until World War II. 8. b. The Indiana Governor’s Cup, also known as the Madison Regatta, takes place on the Ohio River every Fourth of July weekend.