Ohio has its Buckeyes. Iowa has its Hawkeyes. New York’s infested with Knickerbockers and the Delaware breed is a Muskrat. Most notable is the Indianan Hoosier—and we won’t let a day go by without making sure others know it. But where in the world did the term “Hoosier” come from? No one really knows, but the rich assortment of explanations only points to the fact that Indiana is dripping with heritage. (Note: None of the following reasons involves basketball...)
We’re a bunch of drunken hillbillies. Everyone can identify rednecks and crackers. Hicks, country bumpkins—they’re all in the same category. Well, apparently “Hoosier” is the black sheep in this family of derogatory smears, first finding its roots in the south and moving north to describe dim-witted Indiana folk.
Poking even further at this notion is the theory that Indiana natives are an inquisitive breed and used to let themselves into country cabins (that’s how rustic we Hoosiers are) and asked “Who’s here?” After they’d looked around the place, they may have found a Husher, a colossal riverman who could stifle an opponent with one brawny blow.
What’s with the fighting? In the Napoleonic days, the Hussar troops were storied for their bravery. When Col. John Jacob Lehmanowsky retired to Indiana, he told the natives stories of these troops, but the nim-wits could only pronounce it as “Hoosier.” On a larger scale, “Huzzah!” was a common exclamation after military victories. And boy, if I had a nickel for every time I found myself in the middle of a bar room brawl, stumbling upon a dislocated lobe, asking, “Who’s ear?”…um, I’d be broke.
Some guy built a canal. A notable contractor named Samuel Hoosier admired the workers from Indiana and gave them preference when hiring to construct the Louisville and Portland Canal. Eventually, these men became heroes and took on the name “Hoosier’s men” and eventually “Hoosiers.” This story has been discounted by many, except for Indiana’s own Even Bayh, who has taken a strange affinity towards the story and officially endorsed it.
A similar tale takes place along the National Road, where one Robert Hoosier hired Indiana workmen to help build up the roadway. Of course, they proved to be incredibly strong and talented. For their efforts, Federal foremen and those living along the roadway dubbed the workers “Hoosiers.” This one has hardly any backing, though, and took place too recently to be considered the root of the term.
There’s a real etymological reason? Really? Jacob Dunn has done extensive research on the term in question and is convinced that the root holds Saxon beginnings. After all, “hoo” describes a high place or a hill. But the “sier?” Could it have been mistaken for “scir,” which evolved into “shire?” The Hoo Shire would describe a Mountain Region or Hill Country. Could the Brits have passed this along when they came over? Still, I suppose this brings us back to the conclusion that we're all hillbillies...
Go Hoosiers!
[Sources]
Jeffrey Graf - The Word Hoosier
Michael Molenda - What is a Hoosier?
Wikipedia - "Hoosier"
Hoosier History: The word "Hoosier"
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