Editing Indiana County, Pennsylvania (section)

==History==
Indiana County (Indiana meaning "land of the Indians") derives its name from the so-called "Indiana Grant of 1768" that the Iroquois Six Nations were forced to make to "suffering traders" under the [[Fort Stanwix Treaty of 1768]]. The Iroquois had controlled much of the Ohio River valley as their hunting grounds since the 17th century, and Anglo-American colonists were moving into the area and wanted to develop it. Traders arranged to force the Iroquois to grant land under the treaty in relations to losses due to [[Pontiac's Rebellion]].<ref name="anderson">Anderson, James Donald, "Vandalia: The First West Virginia?" ''West Virginia History'', Volume 40, No. 4 (Summer 1979), pp. 375-92  [http://www.wvculture.org/HISTORY/journal_wvh/wvh40-4.html online]</ref>

Some of the grantees joined forces with the [[Ohio Company]], forming a larger development company based on enlarging their grant of land. They proposed that the entire large area would become a new British colony, possibly to be called Pittsylvania or [[Vandalia (colony)|Vandalia]]. It was to be bordered on the north and west by the [[Ohio River]], and made up of what are now parts of eastern Kentucky, northern West Virginia (then part of the Virginia Colony), and western Pennsylvania. Anglo-European colonists from Virginia and Pennsylvania had already started to move into the area, which was identified by these various names as Indiana and the other above names on some maps of the late 1700s.<ref name="miller"/><ref name="anderson"/>

Opposition from other interest groups<ref>Gipson, Lawrence Henry, ''The British Empire Before the American Revolution'', 15 vols. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946-1970, IX 457-88</ref> and the American Revolutionary War intervened before Britain approved such a colony. Afterward, some United States speculators proposed setting up a state in this area to be called Vandalia, or Westsylvania, as appears on some maps of the period.

But both the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania claimed the land based on their colonial charters. In establishing the [[Mason–Dixon line]], the federal government assigned the Indiana Grant to Pennsylvania.<ref name="miller">David W. Miller. ''The Taking of American Indian Lands in the Southeast: A History of Territorial Cessions and Forced Relocations, 1607-1840.'' McFarland, 2011. p. 41. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6277-3}}</ref> As population increased after the war, this county was made up in 1803 of territory from [[Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania|Westmoreland]] and [[Clearfield County, Pennsylvania|Clearfield]] counties; it was formally organized in 1806.<ref name="counties"/>

Kentucky and West Virginia continued to be associated with Virginia for some time, being separately admitted as states in the early 19th century and during the American Civil War, respectively. The area in Pennsylvania was unrelated to and was physically separated from the later named [[Indiana Territory]] established north of the Ohio River in 1800 by the new United States; that territory was eventually admitted to the Union as the State of Indiana.

Indiana County was known as a "hotbed of abolition", and was home to at least two African Methodist Episcopal Zion churches as well as other anti-slavery Protestants such as [[Methodism|Wesleyan Methodists]] and [[Baptists in the United States|Baptists]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Indiana County and the Underground Railroad |url=https://www.iup.edu/library/departments/archives/civilwar/historical-background/indiana-county-and-the-underground-railroad.html |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Indiana University of Pennsylvania}}</ref> It was also in Indiana, local [[Abolitionism|abolitionist]] leader James Moorhead published several anti-slavery newspapers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Antislavery Newspapers |url=https://www.iup.edu/library/departments/archives/civilwar/historical-background/antislavery-newspapers.html |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Indiana University of Pennsylvania}}</ref> The first of these was ''The Clarion of Freedom'', founded in 1843. Moorhead eventually sold the ''Clarion'' and founded a new anti-slavery paper, the ''Indiana Independent,'' which he published until his death in 1857. The ''Independent'' was published by his son J. W. Moorhead after his death. [[Blairsville, Pennsylvania|Blairsville]] was home to another abolitionist newspaper, ''The Appalachian'', which was pro-[[Free Soil Party|Free Soil]] from 1848. Some of the nearby anti-slavery families like the Mitchells and Van Leers, became conductors or contributors in 1958. In a letter to abolitionist [[Theodore Parker]], a local geologist Peter Lesley stated there we over 3,000 men helping the railroad in the area.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our UGRR Conductors & Incidents |url=https://undergroundrailroadblairsvillepa.com/team |website=Blairsville Area Underground Railroad}}</ref>

Indiana County was an active hub of the [[Underground Railroad]].<ref name=":1" /> At least 90 county residents are known to have been conductors or agents, guiding fugitive slaves between hiding places on their way to freedom in Canada.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Our UGRR Conductors & Incidents |url=https://undergroundrailroadblairsvillepa.com/team |access-date=May 2, 2022 |website=Blairsville Area Underground Railroad |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the 21st century, Indiana County comprises the [[Indiana, Pennsylvania|Indiana, PA]] [[Micropolitan Statistical Area]]. This is included in the [[Pittsburgh metropolitan area|Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, PA-WV-OH Combined Statistical Area]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=January 4, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121004708/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[Office of Management and Budget]] |archive-date=January 21, 2017 }}</ref> It is in the defined region of the [[Pittsburgh]] [[Media in Pittsburgh#DMA|media market]]. Indiana County is served by three different [[area code]]s: [[area code 724|724]], [[area code 814|814]], and [[area code 582|582]].

The county proclaims itself the "[[Christmas tree|Christmas Tree]] Capital of the World", shipping over one million trees annually.<ref name=tree>{{cite news | title='Tis the season for tree farmers | newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]] | date=December 20, 2004 | url=http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_285172.html | access-date=May 16, 2006 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061022031549/http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_285172.html | archive-date=October 22, 2006 }}</ref> Agriculture is a major part of its economy.