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The name of the city is derived from the French phrase terre haute, meaning “high land,” and was used by the French explorers in the area in the early 18th century to describe the plateau-like rise of the land next to the Wabash River. During "Tecumseh's War" in 1811, the construction of Fort Harrison during an expedition led by William Henry Harrison marked the known beginning of a permanent population of European-Americans – a Wea village called Weautano (also known as "Rising Sun" and "Old Orchard Town") already existed near the fort. The fort was defended from a British – inspired attack by an estimated 600 Native Americans during the Battle of Fort Harrison on September 4, 1812 by Captain Zachary Taylor. The orchards and meadows kept by the local Wea populations became the site of present – day Terre Haute, a few miles south of Fort Harrison. Before 1830, the few remaining Wea had departed under pressure from white settlement.
The village of Terre Haute, then a part of Knox County, Indiana, was platted in 1816. Its early identity was as an agricultural and pork-packing center and as a port on the then-navigable Wabash River for steamboats and other river-craft. Between 1835 and late 1839, Terre Haute served as the headquarters for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under Major Cornelius A. Ogden during the construction of the National Road. As a result a number of West Point graduates and other highly educated people located in the town. Wealthy Terre Haute entrepreneur Chauncey Rose built The Prairie House, a fancy hotel, in 1838 primarily to accommodate those families. In 1855, the name of The Prairie House was changed to the Terre Haute House.
The anticipation of the arrival of the Wabash and Erie Canal, the longest manmade body of water in the western hemisphere, also brought prosperity to the community. The canal finally reached Terre Haute in October 1849 but, founded by Chauncey Rose, the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad began operations between Terre Haute and Indianapolis in February 1852. The name of the Terre Haute and Richmond Railroad (West of Indianapolis) soon was changed to the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Railroad and it became the operating company of the Vandalia Railroad System. The community quickly gained the reputation as a transportation hub.
In 1832, Terre Haute became a town and, in May 1853, elected to become a city. After the American Civil War, it was an industrial and mining center with iron and steel mills, hominy plants and, late in the 19th Century, distilleries, breweries, coal mines and coal operating companies. Business boomed. Terre Haute's Famous "Four-Cornered" Race Track was the site of more than 20 world harness racing records and helped trigger the city's reputation as a sporting center. The bustling economy led to several institutes of higher education – Saint Mary-of-the Woods Institute (now Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College), John Covert's Terre Haute Female College, Indiana State Normal School (now Indiana State University), Terre Haute School of Industrial Science (now Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Coates College for Women – culture and a reputation in the arts, and a tradition of strong union activity which resulted in hosting a two-day conclave beginning on August 3, 1881 of the National Trade Union Congress, renamed the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions of the U.S. and Canada. In 1886, the Federation was renamed the American Federation of Labor. The city also produced labor leader Eugene V. Debs.
The city also developed a reputation for being "wide open", with gambling and a well-developed "red light district" that was not fully eliminated until urban renewal of the riverfront in the 1960s. During the second decade of the 20th century, Terre Haute was rocked by political scandal and that reputation persisted for several decades. In 1955, Terre Haute was labeled Sin City by the monthly magazine Stag.
Prohibition had a major impact on the city's economy, closing several distilleries and all but one brewery, which reduced its payroll by 70% and converted to produce root beer. It also affected the four large glass manufacturing firms. Two eventually closed. The Root Glass Company survived, primarily because it secured the patent for the Coca-Cola bottle in 1915. Two of the distilleries were sold to Commercial Solvents Corporation, which acquired the rights to produce acetone from Chaim Weizmann in exchange for royalties. While some aspects of the economy seemed to boom in the mid-1920s, the owners of a downtown hotel, the Terre Haute House, decided to demolish their existing building and erect a grand edifice befitting such a modern city as Terre Haute, and in 1928, the new Terre Haute House opened, attracting the wealthy – famous and infamous alike – to its luxurious splendor. No less a figure than Al Capone is rumored to have been a guest in the new hotel's early years.[citation needed] The hotel, which closed in 1970, was sold to a local developer, who demolished it and subsequently sold the property to Dora Brothers Hospitality for development of a Hilton Garden Inn.
Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terre_Haute
County: Vigo County
Terre Haute Zip Codes: 47802, 47803, 47804, 47805, 47807
Terre Haute Public Schools:
Elementary School: Terre Town Elementary School, Lost Creek Elementary School, Rio Grande Elementary School, Dixie Bee Elementary School, Sugar Grove Elementary School
Middle School: Honey Creek Middle School, Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Otter Creek Middle School, Chancey Rose Middle School, Sarah Scott Middle School
High School: Terre Haute North High School, Terre Haute South High School
Terre Haute School Information
Terre Haute Population: 92,507
Terre Haute White Population: 82,819
Terre Haute Black Population: 6,369
Terre Haute Hispanic Population: 1,203
Terre Haute Asian Population: 1,254
Terre Haute Hawaiian Population: 34
Terre Haute Indian Population: 260
Terre Haute Other Population: 396
Terre Haute Male Population: 45,601
Terre Haute Female Population: 46,906
Terre Haute Average House Value: $65,760.00
Terre Haute Average Household Income: $32,842.40
Terre Haute Average Persons Per Household: 2.36
Terre Haute Median Age: 34.68
Terre Haute Median Age Male: 32.56
Terre Haute Median Age Female: 36.76
Terre Haute Business Establishments: 2,451
Terre Haute Employees: 43,804
Terre Haute Total Annual Payroll: $1,146,385,000.00
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Terre Haute, Indiana
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