Where does Southern Indiana REALLY begin? (Indianapolis, Evansville: live, restaurants, food)

[visioncity]

Culturally and Economically I would say that a great continuity begins somewhere near Dyer and runs to the Southern tip of Indiana with Indianapolis as a sort of island metropolis in the middle. This is similar to Illinois in that just south of Cook County through the southern tip you get like culture and economics.

[wh15395]

Having just moved to Indianapolis from Fort Wayne there are more southern accents here. I live on the north side where there really are not any accents but once you get into Johnson county they are noticeable.

With that said I would say it starts south of 465.

[Naptowner]

I remember seeing a diagram at IUPUI once that charted how Indiana was settled, which also explains the accents somewhat. Northern Indiana, down to around Wabash or so, was mainly with folks coming from the east. South of there, more people came up from the south, and this Appalachian immigration really picked up in the years around and after WWII. Most Indiana towns with much industry attracted quite a few displaced Kentuckians during this period, and although some went farther north, there are certainly more to be found in central and southern Indiana. I went to high school in Elkhart county, and when I moved here I thought many had a southern accent.

But for general geographical purposes, I think the map up above is pretty close to what I'd consider southern Indiana.

[chele11]

Oddly enough, as a KENTUCKIAN, I have southern accent-not a drawl-but an accent, but there is not an "R" in WASH.

For Kentuckians, especially Louisvillians, "Southern Indiana" holds a different meaning than for Hoosiers. We think of Southern Indiana as any area of Indiana that is COMMUTABLE, ie: across one of the major bridges from Louisville, within say 45 minutes of downtown Louisville. Anything else, is just "Indiana". No north or south to it.

[JefferyT]

Folks, y'all got a great little cultural geography thread going here.

I've heard that the division used to be called the "US 40 Line", roughly following the route of US 40 (which would be Washington Street in Indy). But I agree that this line is fuzzzy, as all things like this are, and things might be getting more southern further south. Drawing the line around Seymour makes sense.

And, when you're in that hill country and rolling flatlands around Nashville, Paoli, Salem and Corydon it does seem like a northern extension of Kentucky.

[plaidmom]

Funny, but true story....

I moved to (Southern) IN from TX.

For the first year or two while living here I would actually breath a little sigh of relief when we crossed the Ohio.

Why?

It was nice to be someplace where I could say "y'all" without being asked to repeat myself.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by JefferyT

Folks, y'all got a great little cultural geography thread going here.

I've heard that the division used to be called the "US 40 Line", roughly following the route of US 40 (which would be Washington Street in Indy). But I agree that this line is fuzzzy, as all things like this are, and things might be getting more southern further south. Drawing the line around Seymour makes sense.

And, when you're in that hill country and rolling flatlands around Nashville, Paoli, Salem and Corydon it does seem like a northern extension of Kentucky.

I read in college that the majority of people who settled the northern areas of Indianapolis came via the National Road from the Northeast, while those who settled the southern areas came primarily from Appalachia.

There may be some truth to this, if you compare both sides of town today. To someone from Meridian-Kessler or Broad Ripple, Fountain Square may as well be Tennessee.

[Toxic Toast]

Originally Posted by Colts

I read in college that the majority of people who settled the northern areas of Indianapolis came via the National Road from the Northeast, while those who settled the southern areas came primarily from Appalachia.

There may be some truth to this, if you compare both sides of town today. To someone from Meridian-Kessler or Broad Ripple, Fountain Square may as well be Tennessee.

Fountain Square as Tennessee? I really don't think so.

[Capt. Dan]

This is what I always found interesting about going to High School in Gary back in the 60's. Each area of the city was different from the others. East Glen Park was alot of Southerners. Other parts of town were Eastern European. Other parts were Jewish or Puerto Rican. I even remember 1 Puerto Rican student who had moved to Gary from Memphis and she spoke English with a Southern drawl! I personally consider anything south of Bloomington as Southern Indiana.

[Colts]

Originally Posted by Toxic Toast

Fountain Square as Tennessee? I really don't think so.

Of course not. But back in the "old days", there was a little bit of a cultural stigma living down there. It's one of the best 'hoods in Indy, though.