Published: November 23, 2005 01:46 pm         

Terre Haute

A closer look at our city

Don't believe everything your hear. Terre Haute, Indiana, isn't just another sleepy Hoosier crossroads community with an exotic name. It is the home to Columbia Records, Larry Bird's alma mater (Indiana State University), and square donuts.

And much, much more.

Terre Haute (pronounced "terra hote") is French for "high ground." The city rises in all of its Midwestern splendor at the intersection of Interstate 70 and U.S. 41 in west-central Indiana, about 70 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The Wabash River flows down its western edge as it makes its way toward a rendezvous with the Ohio River.

Our city (population 59,614) is the county seat for Vigo County (population app.105,848). It serves as a regional employment, retail, education, cultural, dining, entertainment and health-care hub for more than a dozen surrounding counties in Indiana and east-central Illinois.

In addition to Indiana State University (enrollment app. 11,000), Terre Haute is home to three other institutions of higher learning: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, one of America's top undergraduate engineering schools; St. Mary-of-the-Woods College, a women's liberal arts college operated by the Sisters of Providence; and Ivy Tech State College, a rapidly growing two-year vocational school.

Terre Haute has a large health-care community with numerous clinics and two major hospitals: Union Hospital on the city's north side and Terre Haute Regional Hospital on the south side.

Education and health care are major employers, as are such notable companies as Sony's Digital Audio Disc Corp., Bemis Co., and Columbia House.

The community's rich and colorful history is highlighted by native sons such as Anton "Tony" Hulman, whose vision and leadership helped the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indianapolis 500 become the motorsports icons they are today; Eugene V. Debs, one of the fathers of the American labor movement; Paul Dresser, composer of folk music such as Indiana's state song, "On the Banks of the Wabash"; Theodore Dreiser, an early-20th Century novelist who wrote literary classics "Sister Carrie" and "An American Tragedy"; Birch Bayh, former U.S. senator who authored the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (presidential succession amendment); and Evan Bayh (Birch's son), who is currently Indiana's junior U.S. senator and a former governor.