Why do they call them hoosiers

If so, please share them with us below in the comments. Posted in Indiana June 03, by Elizabeth Crozier. During these uncertain times, please keep safety in mind and consider adding destinations to your bucket list to visit at a later date. The first and possibly most popular theory as to why we're called Hoosiers is because a man named Samuel Hoosier, who was contracted to built a canal along the Ohio River in the s, preferred to hire men from Indiana.

These men were called "Hoosier's Men," which was eventually shortened to Hoosiers. Good Free Photos. Louis, also has its roots in Indiana. Take the one that has a contractor in named either Samuel Hoosier or Hoosher. His workers, who helped build a canal on the Ohio River , were predominantly from Indiana. They were called " Hoosier's men" or "Hoosiers. And then there's the tongue-in-cheek explanation of Hoosier poet James Whitcomb Riley, who related the term to the roughness and ferocity of the state's early residents.

Hoosier pioneers fought so violently, Riley contended, that noses were bitten off and eyes jabbed out during these brawls. Hoosier, said Riley, descends from the question posed by a stranger after entering a southern Indiana tavern and pushing a piece of human flesh with his boot toe: "Who's ear? Whatever its origin, historians agree that the nickname for Indiana residents was popularized in the s by novels such as Edward Eggleston's The Hoosier School-Master, by Riley's poetry, and by newspaper articles that used it.

As a result, although its historical roots may never be discovered, Hoosier is perhaps the most widely recognized state nickname. But even this modern meaning is ambiguous, and the word's use ranges from complimentary to derisive, depending on who is using it. Indiana Examples: 1. I was a Hoosier in college; I went to Indiana University.

Did you see that the Hoosiers made it to a bowl game this year in football? Louis Example: Did you see the gun-rack in Craig's pick-up? He's such a hoosier. Louis Breakdown: " South City Hoosier" - These are hoosiers that have all the hoosier trademarks and live south of Highway Almost all of the men work in the automotive field. The women usually are the ones buying Basic cigarettes and scratch-off tickets at a South Grand gas station on Wednesday mornings while thier 7 and 9 year old kids are listening to Eminem in the Astro van.

In fact, most of them own homes and have decent jobs. Look for fishing boats in the driveways, Christmas lights in May and stockpiles of Busch Light beer. The women usually have part-time jobs, and slightly newer vans. Many south county hoosiers grew up as south city hoosiers.

Most drive pickup trucks and have boots that are heavily stained and torn to shreds. They usually start sentences with "hey man They too hunt, but can't afford to have thier deer stuffed and mounted like most South County Hoosiers. For well over a century and a half the people of Indiana have been called Hoosiers. It is one of the oldest of state nicknames and has had a wider acceptance than most.

True, there are Buckeyes of Ohio, the Suckers of Illinois and the Tarheels of North Carolina -- but none of these has had the popular usage accorded Hoosier. The only comparable term in American experience is Yankee. And that started out as a synonym for New Englander. In the Civil War era Southerners applied it indiscriminately to all Northerners.

In the world wars, many a boy from Dixie doubtless felt a sense of shock when he discovered that in the eyes of our British Limey allies that all Americans were Yanks!

But where did Hoosier come from? What is its origin? We know that it came into general usage in the s. It was widely copied throughout the country and even abroad.