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Indiana State Symbols

Welcome to Indiana, the Crossroads of America! Indiana is one of just a handful of states that have neither a state mammal nor state fish. Is that lame, or is it a nice switch from the growing number of states with bloated symbols rosters? (Continued below)

Indiana State Flag
Nicknames & Slogans
Nicknames The Hoosier State
Symbols of State
Motto The Crossroads of America 1937
Song On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away 1913
EcoSymbols
Flower peony (Paeonia) 1957
(former) zinnia (Zinnia) 1931
(former) tulip tree blossom (Liriodendron tulipifera) 1923
(former) carnation (Dianthus caryophyllus) 1913
Tree tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera) 1931
Bird cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) 1933
Mammal [none]
Fish [none]
Insect Say’s firefly (Pyractomena angulata) 2018
Rock limestone 1971
Fossil † American mastodon (Mammut americanum) 2022
Soil Miami (unofficial) Unofficial
River Wabash River 1996
Cultural Symbols
Pie sugar cream pie 2009
Snack popcorn grown in Indiana 2021
Beverage water 2007
Sagamore of the Wabash Award Sagamore of the Wabash Award
Poem Indiana 1963
Language American Sign Language 1995
Language English Redundant Symbol 1984
Rifle Grouseland rifle 2012
Aircraft Republic Aviation P-47 Thunderbolt 2015

Indiana’s state bird is the cardinal, which represents several other states. Is there nothing special about Indiana?

Well, Indiana is the only state besides Pennsylvania and Tennessee with a firefly lighting up its state symbols. It also calls the American mastodon its state fossil.

However, Indiana’s most iconic symbol may be the nickname Hoosier State. No one even knows exactly what it means. And you’ll never guess what Indiana’s official state beverage is.

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If you think state flags and flowers are nothing more than trivia, guess again. A thorough exploration of the more than 1,500 items adopted as state symbols embraces geography, history, and psychology.

You have found the best state symbols website, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The introduction above is adapted from Geobop’s State Symbols and My State Symbols Book, by far the biggest and most detailed state symbols references ever. You can learn still more about the symbols of the 50 states in the books Flag Quest and Grading the States. (Learn more about them here.)

After you spend some time exploring your favorite state’s symbols, you can come back here and tell us what you think about them.

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