1800 – Under the terms of a bill signed by President John Adams, the Indiana Territory was created out of a section of the Northwest Territory. The large area included most of what is now Indiana and Illinois and parts of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. William Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the new territory.
1835 – The Wabash and Erie Canal was completed between Fort Wayne and Huntington. Before railroads, the canal was the primary means of transportation for people and cargo. Extended to Evansville by 1853, the Wabash and Erie was the nation’s longest canal at 460 miles.
1884 – Victor Higgins was born on a farm in Shelbyville. His artistic talent took him to Chicago where he studied at the Art Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts. After four years of further training in Paris and Munich, he moved to New Mexico where he joined the famed Taos Society of Artists. In his wide range of work, he is known for his sensitivity to brilliant colors and the ability to capture the transitory aspects of nature.
1916 – Indiana’s first state park, McCormick’s Creek, was dedicated in a ceremony including Governor Samuel Ralston and Richard Lieber, founder of the state park system. Lieber called the park “a gift to Hoosiers for the state’s 100th birthday.” Starting with 350 acres at McCormick’s Creek, the state park system has grown to encompass over 170,000 acres.
1932 – The Fourth of July was celebrated in Evansville with the opening of a bridge over the Ohio River. The span connecting the city to Henderson, Kentucky, was dedicated in a ceremony led by Indiana Governor Harry G. Leslie and Kentucky Governor Ruby Laffoon. Later there was a two-mile long parade through the city followed by a spectacular fireworks display.
1945 – A live nationwide broadcast from the State Fairgrounds Coliseum heralded the premier of the movie “The Story of G. I. Joe,” based on the life of Indiana journalist Ernie Pyle. Over 13,000 people were in the audience as Ed Sullivan interviewed friends and neighbors of the popular war correspondent from Dana, Ind. Pyle had been killed in action only three months earlier.