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Monument Circle c.1950 1
In 1820, two years after the State of Indiana was
accepted into the Union, the General Assembly
approved a one square mile donation for a new
state capital. The new central location would
allow Governor Jennings to better administer the
state, since the existing capital, Corydon, was in
the far southern part of the state.
The name Indianapolis is a combination of the state's name, Indiana, and "polis", which
is Greek for city. Hence Indianapolis is literally "City of Indiana".
Indianapolis is the seat of Marion County, which was named after the Revolutionary War
hero Col. Francis Marion, whose nickname was the "Swamp Fox".
Indianapolis c.1840 - View from the top of the Asylum for the Blind 1
Elias Fordham and Alexander Ralston, who assisted Pierre L'Enfant in mapping Washington, D.C.,
surveyed and laid out the original plat of the city. Ralston modeled the city using a
combination of the diagonals from Washington, D.C. and Thomas Jefferson's system of regular
squares. In the center of the plat was a circular plot of land designated to be used for
the Governor's house. A circular street, "Circle Street" ringed the Governor's house.
Original Plat of Indianapolis 1
Today, "Circle Street" is called "Monument Circle" and the Governor's house has been
replaced by the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, the state's memorial to Indiana's Civil
War veterans. The "Circle" and "Monument" continue to be the focal points of Indianapolis.
Photo Credits
1 City of Indianapolis, Division of Planning, Bass Photo Collection
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