Few things in history are quite as baffling as the question Why are people from Indiana called Hoosiers? Okay, alright – there are plenty of more baffling historical inquiries out there – but this one has been a local mystery for (get this) more than 200 years. Turns out, lots of people Google that question every single year, and in the end, nobody really knows. But the history of folks trying to figure it out is quite the adventure – a story totally worth telling. Life in Indiana is quiet and peaceful… until you start trying to figure out a key part of its history. Then it becomes, well, a little chaotic. Enjoy some beautiful photos of Indiana in all its glory while we hash this out:

Ask anyone in Indiana what a "Hoosier" even is, and nobody will really be able to tell you.
David Cornwell/Flickr
Sure, there will be plenty of theories... but that's all they are. Theories.
Even meandering through local history doesn't turn much up; no matter how deep you dig, you're no likelier to find the actual answer.
Tom Gill/Flickr
That being said, though, there are numerous ideas and theories as to how this nickname came to be. Some sound pretty reasonable - others are silly and at times cross the line into ridiculousness, but at least all of them have one thing in common: they're fun.
One of my favorite theories is that once upon a time, the word "Hoosier" was used as a derogatory term to describe uneducated, brash folks... which it really was. But how it came to describe us? Who knows.
Stephen A. Wolfe/Flickr
Considering how most of the folks you'll run into 'round here are warm and fairly kind, I just think that story's fun. Yeah, yeah - label us all as uncouth and obnoxious. We just call it happy. If this were the case, we've happily embraced this attempt at an insult with enthusiasm.

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The first known use of the word in written records was dug up by the IU Archives department.
Elizabeth Nicodemus/Flickr
Dated back to February of 1831, it's a letter whose final line reads:

"Our boat will be named the Indiana Hoosier".
Now, personally, I feel like that's the cutest version of the story - that Hoosiers were playfully named after a boat for obvious reasons.
Tom Gill/Flickr
But eight days after that letter was written, another was written with a passage that read:

"The ‘Hoosher’ country is coming out, and the day is not far distant, when some states which have hitherto looked upon us as a kind of outlandish, half-civilized race, will have to follow in our train."
This demonstrates that the original definition of the word was still in use at this time, as it lines up with the "brash and obnoxious" meaning.
Steve Johnson/Flickr
In 1833, John Finley wrote a poem which read:

The emigrant is soon located- In Hoosher life initiated: Erects a cabin in the woods, Wherein he stows his household goods.

The poem makes many mentions of "Hooshers" as folks living in Indiana, which absolutely could be an earlier iteration of the term. After all, the "si" in "Hoosiers" sounds almost exactly like the "sh" in "Hooshers".
Personally, I believe that the term evolved from its original slang term to describe someone as uncivilized and uncouth to come to mean the tough, resilient folks of the Hoosier State.
Tom Gill/Flickr

Unfortunately, anyone who knew for sure has been gone for at least a century or so by now, so asking is almost impossible. Does anyone have an Ouija board I can borrow? I just have a few questions for the earliest Hooshers I’d like answered.

If you’re planning to visit Indiana and need a place to stay, check out all the fun stuff offered by our friends at VRBO. And if you find you just can’t get enough of this amazingly beautiful place, check out some of the most amazing state parks in Indiana for the ultimate day trip.

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