19th century 's "Plat of the Town of Indianapolis" in 1821 In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood,
U.S. Congress designated four sections of land in central Indiana as the future seat of state government, contingent on tribal removal. Under the
Treaty of St. Mary's (1818), the Delaware and Miami nations relinquished title to these designated lands, with agreement to vacate by 1821. This tract of land, which was called the
New Purchase, included the site selected for the new state capital in 1820. The indigenous people of the land prior to
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 in 1818. 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 and
German immigrants were
Catholics. Few
African Americans lived in central Indiana before 1840. The first
European Americans 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 in February 1820. On January 11, 1820, the
Indiana General Assembly authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital. The state legislature approved the site, adopting the name Indianapolis on January 6, 1821. Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31, 1821, when
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, 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. Growth occurred with the opening of the
National Road through the town in 1827, the first major federally funded highway in the United States. A small segment of the ultimately failed
Indiana Central Canal was opened in 1839. The first railroad to serve Indianapolis, the
Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis Railroad, began operation in 1847, and subsequent railroad connections fostered growth.
American Civil War and Reconstruction During the
American Civil War, Indianapolis was mostly loyal to the
Union cause.
Governor Oliver P. Morton, a major supporter of
President Abraham Lincoln, quickly made Indianapolis a rallying place for
Union army troops. On February 11, 1861,
President-elect Lincoln arrived in the city, en route to
Washington, D.C. for his
presidential inauguration, marking the first visit from a president-elect in the city's history. On April 16, 1861, the first orders were issued to form Indiana's first regiments and establish Indianapolis as a headquarters for the state's volunteer soldiers. Within a week, more than 12,000 recruits signed up to fight for the Union. Indianapolis became a major logistics hub during the war, establishing the city as a crucial military base. Between 1860 and 1870, the city's population more than doubled. On May 20, 1863, Union soldiers attempted to disrupt a statewide Democratic convention at Indianapolis, forcing an adjournment of the proceedings, sarcastically referred to as the
Battle of Pogue's Run. Fear turned to panic in July 1863, during
Morgan's Raid into southern Indiana, but Confederate forces turned east toward
Ohio, never reaching Indianapolis. On April 30, 1865, Lincoln's funeral train made a stop at Indianapolis, where an estimated crowd of more than 100,000 people passed the assassinated president's
bier at the
Indiana Statehouse. Following the Civil War and in the wake of the
Second Industrial Revolution, Indianapolis experienced tremendous growth and prosperity. In 1880, Indianapolis was the world's third-largest pork packing city, after
Chicago and
Cincinnati, and the second-largest railroad center in the U.S. by 1888. In 1889 the city hosted the first
Indianapolis May Festival; a classical festival of national reputation that was held annually through 1898. By 1890, the city's population surpassed 100,000.
Ray Harroun won the inaugural running of the
Indianapolis 500, held May 30,
1911, at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Indianapolis was one of the hardest hit cities in the
Great Flood of 1913, resulting in five known deaths and the displacement of 7,000 families. Once home to 60 automakers, Indianapolis rivaled
Detroit as a center of automobile manufacturing. The city was an early focus of
labor organization. The
International Typographical Union and
United Mine Workers of America were among several influential labor unions based in the city. Led by
D. C. Stephenson, the
Indiana Klan became the most powerful political and social organization in Indianapolis from 1921 through 1928, controlling the City Council and the Board of School Commissioners. At its height, more than 40% of native-born white males in Indianapolis claimed membership in the Klan. While campaigning in the city in 1968,
Robert F. Kennedy delivered one of the most lauded
speeches in 20th century American history following the assassination of
Martin Luther King Jr. As in most U.S. cities during the
civil rights movement, the city experienced strained race relations, including
1969 riots. A 1971 federal court decision forcing
Indianapolis Public Schools to implement
desegregation busing proved controversial. During the mayoral administration of
Richard Lugar (1968–1976), the city and county governments consolidated. Known as
Unigov (a
portmanteau of "unified" and "government"), the
city-county consolidation removed bureaucratic redundancies, captured increasingly
suburbanizing tax revenue, and created a
Republican political machine that dominated local politics until the early 2000s. Effective January 1, 1970, Unigov expanded the city's land area by more than and increased its population by some 250,000 people. It was the first major city-county consolidation to occur in the U.S. without a
referendum since the creation of the
City of Greater New York in 1898. Lugar is credited with initiating downtown revitalization efforts, overseeing the building of
Market Square Arena, renovations to
Indianapolis City Market, and the formation of
Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis. Amid the changes in government and growth, the city pursued an aggressive economic development strategy to raise the city's stature as a
sports tourism destination, known as the Indianapolis Project. During the administration of the city's longest-serving mayor,
William Hudnut (1976–1992), millions of dollars were invested into sports venues and public relations campaigns. The strategy was successful in landing the
U.S. Olympic Festival in 1982, securing the
relocation of the Baltimore Colts in 1984, and hosting the
1987 Pan American Games. seen from
Canal and White River State Park in 2008
Bart Peterson took office in 2000, the first Democrat elected to the post since
John J. Barton's
1963 election. The Peterson administration focused on
education reform and promoting the arts.
21st century In 2001, the mayor's office became the first in the U.S. to authorize
charter schools.
Indianapolis Cultural Districts were designated in 2003, followed by the groundbreaking of the
Indianapolis Cultural Trail in 2007. Further consolidation of city and county units of government resulted in the establishment of the
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department in 2007. Later that year,
Greg Ballard succeeded Peterson in a political upset. The Ballard administration oversaw the lease of the city's parking meters and the sale of the city's water and wastewater utilities with proceeds financing street repairs. Ballard pursued several environmental sustainability efforts, including establishing an office of sustainability, installing of bike lanes and trails, and spearheading a controversial deal to start an electric
carsharing program. Two of the city's largest capital projects, the
Indianapolis International Airport's new terminal and
Lucas Oil Stadium, were completed in 2008. In 2012, construction began on a $2 billion tunnel system, a project known as
DigIndy, which was designed to reduce sewage overflows into the city's waterways. Since 2016, the administration of
Joe Hogsett has focused on addressing a rise in gun violence and the city's racial disparities. In recent years, significant capital and operational investments have been made in public safety, criminal justice, and public transit. The city also established rental assistance and
food security programs. In 2020, the
George Floyd protests in Indiana prompted a series of local
police reforms and renewed efforts to bolster social services for mental health treatment and homelessness. In 2021,
a mass shooting occurred at a
FedEx facility on the city's southwest side, killing nine (including the gunman) and injuring seven others. ==Geography==