Indiana: The Hoosier State

The US state whose name means “land of the Indians” also has a lot of German connections. In fact the largest ancestry reported in Indiana is “German” – with 22.7 percent of the population claiming that ancestry in the 2020 census. In the 1980 census that percentage was even higher: 32 percent German.

The largest immigrant group to settle in Indiana were Germans, followed by the number of immigrants from Ireland and England. Although there was technically no unified “Germany” (Prussia) until 1871, German ancestry refers to people with a German-speaking heritage, including Austrians and German Swiss, many of whom arrived in Indiana and the US before 1871.

Carole Lombard in her last film, TO BE OR NOT TO BE (1942). The German American actress Carol Lombard was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She was married to the German American Clark Gable when she died in a plane crash in 1942. Her birth name was Jane Alice Peters. Learn more below. PHOTO: Paramount Studios, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

Urban versus Rural
German Swiss and Alsatian farmers settled in the rural areas of Indiana. German beer brewers and other craftspeople preferred more urban locations, settling in Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne, and other cities, where the German-language press thrived for many years. Indiana counts among those US states where German-language newspapers at one time numbered in the hundreds, not all of them in large cities. (See more about newspapers below.)

In Indianapolis and other cities, the German language and German culture had a significant impact on the development of the city, particularly by the establishment of gymnastics clubs (Turners) in the 1850s, which were as much about social and cultural development as they were physical development. German American groups influenced music, art, education, business, politics, and physical fitness all across Indiana.

A poster for the C.F. Schmidt’s Brewery in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Indianapolis Brewing Company (IBC) was formed in 1887 by consolidating three successful German-owned beer brewing companies in the city: C. Maus Brewery, C.F. Schmidt’s Brewery & Bottling Department, and P. Lieber Brewing Company. PHOTO: Indiana Historical Society (indianahistory.org)

German Place Names in Indiana
Although many German-speaking immigrants settled in cities and towns with non-German names, many places in Indiana bear German or Germanic names: Altona, Berlin, Berne, Bremen, Darmstadt, Germantown (more than one!), Hamburg, Hanover, or Vienna. But German-speaking immigrants also settled in places with names such as Evansville, Indianapolis, Jasper, Mount Vernon, New Albany, Logansport, and Terre Haute – most of which supported German newspapers. At least three counties in Indiana have Germanic-inspired names: DeKalb, Steuben, and Switzerland. We’ll examine place names a bit closer below.

Notable Hoosiers of German Heritage
Indiana’s relatively high percentage of people of Germanic heritage is reflected in the notable German Americans who came from that state. Some of the best known include:

• Theodore Dreiser (1871-1945) | The German American novelist (Sister Carrie, 1900); An American Tragedy, 1925) was born in Terre Haut. His father, Johann Dreiser, had emigrated from Mayen in the Rhineland (today in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate) in 1844 and eventually landed in the American Midwest. Theodore’s mother, Sarah Maria (née Schanab), came from a Mennonite farming community in Ohio.
• Carole Lombard (1908-1942) | The German American film actress was born Jane Alice Peters in Fort Wayne. Her parents were Frederick Christian Peters and Elizabeth Knight. Her paternal grandfather, Claus Peters (1875-1935), was the son of German immigrants. Her paternal great grandfather, John Claus Peters, was probably born in Munich. His wife (Carole’s paternal great grandmother), Caroline Catherine Eberlin, was probably born in Hanover, Germany. Lombard’s parents were wealthy members of the Fort Wayne community. She was married to the German American Clark Gable when she died in a plane crash in Nevada in April 1942 at the age of 33. Her films include: Man of the World (1931), Ladies’ Man (1931), Hands Across the Table (1935), My Man Godfrey (1936, with her ex, William Powell), Nothing Sacred (1937), To Be or Not to Be (1942).
• Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) | The German American novelist was born in Indianapolis. Of his 14 novels, Slaughterhouse-Five, his sixth, is the most famous. He also published plays, short stories, and five nonfiction works. Vonnegut descended from a long line of German Americans whose immigrant ancestors settled in the United States in the mid-19th century. Both of Vonnegut’s parents were fluent speakers of German, but anti-German sentiment during and after World War I caused them to abandon German culture. Kurt grew up without learning German. Vonnegut was serving as a US soldier in Germany during World War II when he was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and interned in Dresden. He survived the Allied bombing of the city in a meat locker of the slaughterhouse where he was imprisoned. Slaughterhouse-Five was published in 1969 and became a commercial and critical success.

German Language Newspapers in Indiana
By 1890 more than 1,000 German-language newspapers were being published in the United States, with more than 175 of them published in Indiana between 1843 and 1920. The following list is only a sample of the newspapers published daily or weekly in German (entirely or partially) in Indiana during the years indicated: Die Fort Wayne Freie Presse, 1888-1926; Freie Presse-Staatszeitung, Fort Wayne, 1908-1927; Indiana Tribüne, Indianapolis, 1878-1907; Logansport, Indiana Freie Presse, 1894-1918; Täglicher Telegraph und Tribüne, Indianapolis, 1865-1918; Terre Haute Journal, 1884-1919; Wöchentlicher Evansville Demokrat (weekly), Evansville, 1864-1918.

With the outbreak of the First World War, as in all of the USA, German became undesirable in Indiana. The state banned the “Hun language” in 1919, which forced schools to stop teaching German, and caused German-language newspapers to shut down or switch to English. To view scans of some of these newspapers, see this searchable Library of Congress site: chroniclingamerica.loc.gov. You can search by location and/or language.

More About German Place Names in Indiana
We don’t have room in this blog post to list all of the many Indiana places with a name related to German, Swiss, or Austrian locations, but here are a few interesting ones (with population, year). Some have faded from the map, while others are still going strong.

Berlin – An extinct former town in Clinton County, Indiana that vanished from the map in the early 1900s.

Berne | 4,173 (2020) – A city in Adams County. Berne was settled in 1852 by Mennonite immigrants who came directly from Switzerland, and named the community for the capital of Switzerland. The city has a clock tower in the center of town that is modeled after the original Zytglogge in Bern, Switzerland. Berne and the surrounding area have become known for a large Amish population that speaks Bernese German, a Swiss German dialect. Nearby is the Swiss Heritage Village and Museum. See the photo of the clock tower below.

This clock tower in Berne, Indiana is modeled after the Zytglogge located in Bern, Switzerland. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

Bremen | 4,696 (2020) – A town in German Township, Marshall County. Originally named New Bremen by its German settlers, the town was platted and laid out in 1851 and incorporated in 1871. A time passed, the “New” was dropped. Bremen gets its nickname of “Mint City” from the fact that much of its early prosperity was based on farming mint plants. Northern Indiana at one time was known for mint production. The historic Bremen train depot was re-dedicated to the Town of Bremen on 1 May 2011, after the Bremen Historical Society engaged in an effort to move, restore, and revitalize the historic depot. It now functions as the local historical museum.

Darmstadt | 1,373 (2020) – A small German-heritage town primarily located in Scott Township, Vanderburgh County, just north of Evansville in southern Indiana. Darmstadt was first settled in 1822, after Michael Bauer came to Indiana from Darmstadt, Germany with his parents. The Bauer family established a picnic ground where townspeople would travel in their horse drawn buggies or wagons carrying picnic baskets and blankets to gather on the ten acres of land Michael owned, now known as Bauer’s Grove Bauerhaus. Trinity Lutheran Church was founded in 1847 to serve the spiritual needs of German immigrants near the town of Darmstadt.

DeKalb County | 43,226 (2018) – A county in northeastern Indiana on the western border of Ohio. The county seat is Auburn. In 1835 the Indiana State Legislature authorized the creation of 13 counties in northeast Indiana on previously unorganized land. It was named for General Johann de Kalb, a Continental Army officer from Bavaria, who was killed at the Battle of Camden in South Carolina. Located just south of Steuben County, DeKalb County spells General De Kalb’s name incorrectly (as one word), as do most other places in the US named for De Kalb.

Fulda | 130 (2010) – An unincorporated community in Spencer County, in southern Indiana. Fulda was laid out in the 1840s and was settled by German Catholics who named the village after Fulda, Germany. A post office operated in Fulda from 1850 to 1995. Fulda, Germany, where St. Boniface was buried at Fulda Cathedral in 754, is closely associated with the veneration of St. Boniface, who is considered the patron saint of Germany.

Germantown (Decatur County) – A small unincorporated rural community in Decatur County, this “Germantown” is the only one (out of seven!) in Indiana that still exists under that name, although just barely.

Hamburg (Franklin County) – An unincorporated community in Ray Township. Hamburg was platted in 1864 by Wesley Martin. It was named after Hamburg, Germany. A post office was established at Hamburg in 1867 and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1929.

Hessen Cassel | 1,100 (2010) – An unincorporated community in Allen County, just south of Fort Wayne. The first settlers, German Catholics from Hessen-Cassel/Kassel (Diocese of Fulda) came to Indiana in 1834. Hessen Cassel was platted in 1863 and named for the Landgrafschaft Hessen-Cassel/Kassel (Landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel/Kassel) in Germany.

Leipsic | 50 (2010) – An unincorporated community in Orange County, in south-central Indiana. The town was laid out in 1851 and was originally called Lancaster. A post office was established under the Leipsic name in 1852, and remained in operation until 1980. Apparently named after the German city of Leipzig, the “Leipsic” spelling of the name was common in English in the mid-19th century.

Lucerne | 726 (2019) – An unincorporated community in Harrison Township, Cass County, about 12 miles north of Logansport, Indiana. Lucerne was platted in 1883 when the railroad was extended to that point. The community took its name from Lucerne, Switzerland. The Lucerne post office was established in 1891. Note: Some other places in the US named Lucerne take their name from the fact that “lucerne” also means alfalfa, not the Swiss city.

Oldenburg | 663 (2019) – A town in Franklin County, Indiana. Settlement began in 1817 when Catholic German immigrants began migrating from the Cincinnati area westward into parts of Indiana and Kentucky. The community gradually expanded until it was platted in 1839. The town was named after Oldenburg, Germany.

Switzerland County | 10,717 (2018) – A county in the southeast corner of the state of Indiana. The county seat is Vevay, one of two incorporated towns in the county. Several early settlers in what is now Switzerland County were originally from Switzerland, the first in 1795. Industrial wine grape production in Switzerland County earned the area the title “The Rhineland of America.”

Vienna | 120 (2010) – A historic unincorporated community in Vienna Township, Scott County, Indiana. A post office operated in Vienna from 1832 to 1942. The community was named after Vienna, Austria.

Westphalia | 181 (2020) – An unincorporated rural community and census-designated place (CDP) in Knox County. Named after the region of Westphalia in Germany, a post office was established in 1881. Originally composed largely of Germans, the town was located along the Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad near the former Wagner Station. Today the community is 23 miles (37 km) from Vincennes, the county seat.

Other US States in Our Series
This is the fifth post in a series about German place names and related connections in North America (Part 1 and Part 2). Previously we have also posted about German connections in Louisiana and Texas. We will post about more states in the near future. A more comprehensive section on German connections in the US and Canada is planned and has been in development since 2020.

–HF