Indianapolis Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Founding=== [[File:Greater Indianapolis ;the history, the industries, the institutions, and the people of a city of homes (1910) (14803447463).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|An 1820 depiction of Indianapolis]] [[File:Restored plat of Indianapolis.png|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Alexander Ralston]]'s "Plat of the Town of Indianapolis" (1821)]] In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood, the [[United States Congress|U.S. Congress]] donated four sections of federal land to establish a permanent seat of state government.<ref>{{cite book|author=A. C. Howard|title=A. C. Howard's Directory for the City of Indianapolis: Containing a Correct List of Citizens' Names, Their Residence, and Place of Business, with a Historical Sketch of Indianapolis from its Earliest History to the Present Day|publisher=A. C. Howard|year=1857|location=Indianapolis|page=3}} See also {{cite book|author=Hester Ann Hale|title=Indianapolis, the First Century|publisher=Marion County Historical Society|year=1987|location=Indianapolis|page=9}}</ref> Two years later, under the [[Treaty of St. Mary's]] (1818), the [[Lenape|Delaware]] relinquished title to their tribal lands in central Indiana, agreeing to leave the area by 1821.<ref name="Ency">{{cite book|last=Bodenhamer|first=David|author2=Robert Graham Barrows|author3=David Gordon Vanderstel|title=The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1994|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bg13QcMSsq8C|isbn=0-253-31222-1}} p. 1042</ref> This tract of land, which was called the [[New Purchase (1818)|New Purchase]], included the site selected for the new state capital in 1820.<ref>Brown, p. 1; ''Centennial History of Indianapolis'', p. 26; and Howard, p. 2.</ref> The indigenous people of the land prior to [[Indian removals in Indiana|systematic removal]] are the [[Miami Nation of Indiana]] ([[Miami Nation of Oklahoma]]) and Indianapolis makes up part of Cession 99; the primary treaty between the indigenous population and the United States was the [[Treaty of St. Mary's (1818)]].<ref name=Madison123>{{cite book | author=James H. Madison| title =Hoosiers: A New History of Indiana| publisher =Indiana University Press and the Indiana Historical Society Press | year =2014 | location =Bloomington and Indianapolis | page =123 | isbn =978-0-253-01308-8}}</ref> The availability of new federal lands for purchase in central Indiana attracted settlers, many of them descendants of families from northwestern Europe. Although many of these first European and American settlers were [[Protestants]], a large proportion of the early [[Irish people|Irish]] and [[Germans|German]] immigrants were [[Catholics]]. Few [[African American]]s lived in central Indiana before 1840.<ref>Baer, p. 10 and 58.</ref> The first [[European American]]s to permanently settle in the area that became Indianapolis were either the McCormick or Pogue families. The McCormicks are generally considered to be the first permanent settlers; however, some historians believe [[George Pogue]] and family may have arrived first, on March 2, 1819, and settled in a log cabin along the creek that was later called [[Pogue's Run]]. Other historians have argued as early as 1822 that [[John Wesley McCormick]] and his family and employees became the area's first European American settlers, settling near the [[White River (Indiana)|White River]] in February 1820.<ref>Brown, p. 2; ''Centennial History of Indianapolis'', p. 6; and Hale, p. 8.</ref> On January 11, 1820, the [[Indiana General Assembly]] authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital.<ref>Hale, p. 9.</ref> The state legislature approved the site, adopting the name Indianapolis on January 6, 1821.<ref name="founding"/> In April, [[Alexander Ralston]] and [[Elias Pym Fordham]] were appointed to survey and design a town plan for the new settlement.<ref>Hyman, p. 10, and {{cite journal|author=William A. Browne Jr.|title=The Ralston Plan: Naming the Streets of Indianapolis|journal=Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History|volume=25|issue=3|pages=8β9|publisher=Indiana Historical Society|location=Indianapolis|date=Summer 2013}} Accessed March 25, 2016.</ref> Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31, 1821, when [[Marion County, Indiana|Marion County]], was established. A combined county and town government continued until 1832 when Indianapolis was incorporated as a town. Indianapolis became an incorporated city effective March 30, 1847. [[Samuel Henderson (Indianapolis mayor)|Samuel Henderson]], the city's first mayor, led the new city government, which included a seven-member city council. In 1853, voters approved a new city charter that provided for an elected mayor and a fourteen-member city council. The city charter continued to be revised as Indianapolis expanded.<ref>Brown, pp. 8, 46 and 49; ''Centennial History of Indianapolis'', p. 30; Esarey, v. 3, pp. 42β43 and 201β2; and {{cite book|editor1-last=Bodenhamer|editor1-first=David J.|editor2-last=Barrows|editor2-first=Robert G.|title=The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis|publisher=Indiana University Press|year=1994|location=Bloomington and Indianapolis|pages=1479β80|isbn=0-253-31222-1}}</ref> Effective January 1, 1825, the seat of state government moved to Indianapolis from [[Corydon, Indiana]]. In addition to state government offices, a [[United States district court|U.S. district court]] was established at Indianapolis in 1825.<ref>Bodenhamer and Barrows, eds., p. 967; Hale, p. 13; Howard, p. 26; and {{cite book|author=W. R. Holloway|title=Indianapolis: A Historical and Statistical Sketch of the Railroad City, A Chronicle of its Social, Municipal, Commercial and Manufacturing Progress with Full Statistical Tables|url=https://archive.org/details/indianapolishist00inholl|publisher=Indianapolis Journal|year=1870|location=Indianapolis}}</ref> Growth occurred with the opening of the [[National Road]] through the town in 1827, the first major federally funded highway in the United States.<ref name=Hyman34-Baer11>Baer, p. 11, and Hyman, p. 34.</ref> A small segment of the ultimately failed [[Indiana Central Canal]] was opened in 1839.<ref name="Canal">{{cite encyclopedia|editor1-last=Bodenhamer|editor1-first=David|editor2-last=Barrows|editor2-first=Robert|title=The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis|year=1994|publisher=Indiana University Press|location=Bloomington & Indianapolis|pages=395β396}}</ref> The first railroad to serve Indianapolis, the [[Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad]], began operation in 1847, and subsequent railroad connections fostered growth.<ref name="Britannica"/> [[Indianapolis Union Station]] was the first of its kind in the world when it opened in 1853.<ref name="Union Station">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/indianapolis/unionstation.htm|title=Indianapolis Union Railroad Station|work=Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary|publisher=National Park Service|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=August 11, 2015}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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