Adoption
The Indiana General Assembly passed a resolution in 1937 establishing the phrase as the state's official motto. [1]
The Crossroads of America is the official motto of the U.S. state of Indiana. Various cities in the Midwestern United States also use the phrase or a variant thereof to describe their location.
The Indiana General Assembly passed a resolution in 1937 establishing the phrase as the state's official motto. [1]
In the early days of cross-country travel by horse and wagon, Terre Haute, Indiana, benefited by its location on the old National Road between Indianapolis and Vandalia, Illinois. The National Road was later named U.S. Highway 40 when it became a U.S. Highway in 1926. At the same time, US 41 was commissioned between Chicago, Illinois, and Miami, Florida. This north–south highway through downtown Terre Haute followed Seventh Street at the time, and met US 40, which followed Wabash Avenue, the main east–west street in town. The Seventh and Wabash intersection thus became known as the "Crossroads of America", an appellation now memorialized with a historical marker at that corner. [2]
Indianapolis, the state capital, is also unofficially nicknamed the Crossroads of America, due to its central location at the junction of four major Interstate Highways: Interstate 65, Interstate 69, Interstate 70, and Interstate 74. [3]
Vandalia, Ohio, has also been called the Crossroads of America because US 40 and the eastern division of the Dixie Highway crossed in the middle of the town. [4]
Schererville, Indiana, uses the motto "Crossroads of the Nation" to describe the intersection of U.S. Route 30 and U.S. Route 41 in the center of town. Much of US 30 was originally the Lincoln Highway, one of the first cross country highways in America. US 41 was once one of the most traveled roads from the Midwestern United States to the Southern United States. [5]
Wentzville, Missouri, uses the motto "Crossroads of the Nation" as well to describe the intersection of I-70 and U.S. 40. [6]
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky Mountains. West of the Rockies, the route of I-70 was derived from multiple sources. The Interstate runs through or near many major cities, including Denver, Topeka, Kansas City, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore. The sections of the Interstate in Missouri and Kansas have laid claim to be the first Interstate in the United States. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has claimed the section of I-70 through Glenwood Canyon, Colorado, completed in 1992, to be the last piece of the Interstate Highway System, as originally planned, to open to traffic. The construction of I-70 in Colorado and Utah is considered an engineering marvel, as the route passes through the Eisenhower Tunnel, Glenwood Canyon, and the San Rafael Swell. The Eisenhower Tunnel is the highest point along the Interstate Highway System, with an elevation of 11,158 feet (3,401 m).
Vigo County is a county on the western border of the U.S. state of Indiana. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 105,994. Its county seat is Terre Haute.
Vermillion County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana between the Illinois border and the Wabash River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 16,212. The county seat is Newport. It was officially established in 1824 and was the fiftieth Indiana county created. Vermillion County is included in the Terre Haute, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The county contains seven incorporated towns with a total population of about 9,900. as well as several unincorporated communities; it is also divided into five townships which provide local services. An interstate highway, two U.S. routes, and five state roads cross the county, as does a major railroad line.
Fountain County lies in the western part of the U.S. state of Indiana on the east side of the Wabash River. The county was officially established in 1826 and was the 53rd in Indiana. The county seat is Covington.
Terre Haute is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, about 5 miles east of the state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943.
The Wabash and Erie Canal was a shipping canal that linked the Great Lakes to the Ohio River via an artificial waterway. The canal provided traders with access from the Great Lakes all the way to the Gulf of Mexico. Over 460 miles long, it was the longest canal ever built in North America.
U.S. Route 40 or U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), also known as the Main Street of America, is a major east–west United States Highway traveling across the United States from the Mountain States to the Mid-Atlantic States. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, US 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the first U.S. Highways created in 1926 and its original termini were in San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey. US 40 currently ends at a junction with I-80 in Silver Summit, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City. West of this point US 40 was functionally replaced with I-80, and as these segments of I-80 were constructed the western portion of US 40 was truncated several times.
U.S. Route 41, also U.S. Highway 41 (US 41), is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs from Miami, Florida, to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Until 1949, the part in southern Florida, from Naples to Miami, was US 94. The highway's southern terminus is in the Brickell neighborhood of Downtown Miami at an intersection with Brickell Avenue (US 1), and its northern terminus is east of Copper Harbor, Michigan, at a modest cul-de-sac near Fort Wilkins Historic State Park at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula. US 41 closely parallels Interstate 75 (I-75) from Naples, Florida, all the way through Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Anton "Tony" Hulman Jr. was an American businessman from Terre Haute, Indiana, who bought the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1945 and brought racing back to the famous race course after a four-year hiatus following World War II.
Chauncey Rose was a successful American businessman of the 19th century.
State Road 63 (SR 63) in the U.S. state of Indiana is a north–south route in the western portion of the state. Until mid-2008, it covered a distance of just over 96 miles (154 km), but now is a discontinuous route. For 63 miles (101 km), from the city of Terre Haute until it rejoins U.S. Route 41 (US 41) near Carbondale, it is a four-lane divided highway and replaces US 41 as the major north–south artery in this portion of the state.
U.S. Route 41 (US 41) in the state of Indiana is a north–south US Highway that is parallel to the Illinois state line. It enters the state south of Evansville as a four-lane divided highway passing around Vincennes and traveling north to Terre Haute. In Terre Haute, it is known as 3rd Street. North of Terre Haute, it hooks east and becomes a two-lane surface road. Those wanting to stay on a four-lane divided highway can use State Road 63 to the west. It passes through Rockville, Veedersburg, and Attica before returning to a four-lane divided highway when SR 63 terminates in Warren County. It remains a four-lane divided highway until Lake County, where it becomes a main road known as Indianapolis Boulevard. It overlaps US 12 and US 20 in Hammond and exits Indiana into the South Side of Chicago.
U.S. Route 40 (US 40) runs east–west across south central Illinois for 159.8 miles (257.2 km). US 40 enters the state from Missouri across the Poplar Street Bridge over the Mississippi River at East St. Louis concurrent with Interstate 55 (I-55) and I-64 and exits just south of State Line, Indiana, running concurrently with I-70. For the majority of its route through Illinois, US 40 follows the National Road, including the route's initial western terminus at Vandalia.
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a part of the Interstate Highway System that travels from Cove Fort, Utah, to Baltimore, Maryland. In the US state of Illinois, the highway travels 160 miles (260 km) from the Missouri state line at the Mississippi River in Brooklyn east to the Indiana state line near Marshall. I-70, which travels in a generally east-northeast direction across the state parallel to and sometimes concurrent with U.S. Route 40 (US 40), connects St. Louis and the Metro East region of Illinois with the Indiana cities of Terre Haute and Indianapolis, as well as many small towns along the northern edge of Southern Illinois and the southern tier of the Central Illinois region. Within Metro East, I-70 has interchanges with I-64 in East St. Louis and I-55 near Troy. I-70 also has interchanges with the two Interstates that form St. Louis's beltway: I-255 near Collinsville and I-270 at the I-55 junction near Troy. East of the Metro East region, I-70 meets US 51 in Vandalia and both I-57 and US 45 in Effingham. Like all Interstate Highways, I-70 is a part of the National Highway System for its entire length in Illinois.
Interstate 70 (I-70) in the US state of Indiana travels east–west across the state passing through the capital of Indianapolis. I-70 crosses from Illinois into Indiana near Terre Haute and departs into Ohio at Richmond. It covers 156.6 miles (252.0 km) in Indiana, paralleling U.S. Highway 40 (US 40), the old National Road.
Interstate 74 (I-74) in the US state of Indiana traverses central parts of the state from west to east. It connects Champaign, Illinois, with Indianapolis in the center of the state, and Indianapolis with Cincinnati, Ohio. I-74 covers 171.54 miles (276.07 km) across Indiana, a portion of which is concurrently routed through Indianapolis along the southern and western legs of I-465.
U.S. Route 150 (US 150) in Indiana is a 176.315-mile-long (283.751 km) east–west highway that travels from the Illinois state line east of Paris, Illinois to Louisville, Kentucky at the Kentucky state line. A section of US 150 from New Goshen to Vincennes travels north–south instead of east–west. US 150 travels concurrently with its parent route, US 50, from Vincennes to Shoals. Between West Terre Haute and Terre Haute, US 150 travels along part of the historic National Road. Also, from Vincennes to New Albany, the route is designated as part of Indiana's Historic Pathways, as it roughly parallels what was then part of the Buffalo Trace.
State Road 641 (SR 641) in the U.S. state of Indiana is a state road in Vigo County that bypasses the city of Terre Haute. The highway connects U.S. Route 41 (US 41) in the south and Interstate 70 (I-70) in the north.
The Vandalia Railroad Company was incorporated January 1, 1905, by a merger of several lines in Indiana and Illinois that formed a 471-mile railroad consisting of lines mostly west of Indianapolis.