Happy Birthday, Hoosier State! 200 Years Today!

(Photo Supplied/ Hamilton East Public Library)

INDIANAPOLIS – Two hundred years ago today Congress officially recognized Indiana as a state.

Gov. Mike Pence told a crowd marking the 200th anniversary of Indiana’s elevation to statehood that the state’s best days are still ahead of it.

The vice president-elect addressed Hoosiers Sunday at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum for the state’s bicentennial celebration. Pence said that on that date two centuries ago, “Indiana became the 19th star in Old Glory.”

Gov.-elect Eric Holcomb and several other speakers also addressed Sunday’s gathering, which was treated to music and dancing.

Pence, who declared Sunday “Ignite the Future Day” in Indiana , boasted that “the best is yet to come for the state of Indiana.”

Sunday’s celebration is the finale event of the year-long bicentennial celebration.  Indiana became the 19th state on Dec. 11, 1816.