Descriptions of each U.S. State history, economy, climate, geography, fun facts, and points of interest; also six links to more information.
History: Native American tribes, such as the Chickasaw and Choctaw, are descendants of the Woodland and Mississippian culture that inhabited Mississippi. Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer, passed through in 1540. French colonists established the first European settlement at Fort Maurepas, near Ocean Springs today, on the Gulf Coast. Throughout the 18th century, the area […]
History: Minnesota was inhabited by various indigenous peoples for thousands of years before European arrived. French explorers came, along with missionaries and fur traders, in the 1600s. Most of western Minnesota became part of the Louisiana Territory, owned first by Spain then by France. The eastern part of Minnesota was ceded to the U.S. after […]
History: Prior to European exploration, Michigan was inhabited by the Algonquian Native Americans. There were three nations, made up of the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi, three groups that co-existed peacefully as the “The Council of Three Fires”. Michigan was first explored by the Etienne Bruie expedition in 1622, and claimed for France. Jacques Marquette founded […]
History: Native American tribes of the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusetts inhabited the area of Massachusetts. The Pilgrims (first English settlers) arrived in 1620 at Plymouth on the ship ‘Mayflower’. Massachusetts was the second of the original 13 English colonies. The “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated by the Pilgrims with the Indians after their […]
History: Native Americans reached the Washington area more than 10,000 years ago. The coastal tribes are well-known for their totem poles, ornate masks, and elaborately carved canoes. The first European visitor was Spaniard Don Bruno de Heceta in 1775. British explorers James Cook sailed by in 1778 and George Vancouver in 1792. Spain gave up […]
History: Native Americans speaking the Algonquian language lived in Maryland before the arrival of Europeans. European exploration began with the Venetian John Cabot, who sailed along the Maryland coast in 1498. George Calvert (Lord Baltimore) was granted a royal charter to establish the colony of Maryland in 1634. It became one of the 13 original […]
History: Native Americans settled in Kentucky sometime before 10,000 BCE, then slowly changed from a hunter-gatherer to agricultural lifestyle. By the 16th century, there were five major culture groups living in Kentucky – Iroquoian, Sioux, Algonquian, Muskogean, and Yuchi. Although the French claimed the Kentucky area, they never settled it and lost any claim after […]
History: The early Native Americans were hunter-gatherers, but later developed agriculture, copper technology, and the mound culture. Europeans from Virginia first explored the area in 1670, then Germans from Pennsylvania settled in 1725. George Washington helped survey the area from 1748 to 1751. After the Revolutionary War, increasing settlement brought conflict with many tribes. When […]
History: After the ancestors of Native Americans arrived many thousands of years ago, they built the earliest mound complex in North America around 3500 BC. The mound culture grew and spread across much of the present-day Midwest. An initial Spanish expedition in 1528 found the mouth of the Mississippi River. French explorer Robert Caveliere de […]
History: The Native Americans in Iowa more than 13,000 years ago started as hunters and gatherers, living in a Pleistocene glacial landscape. At the time of European exploration, numerous civilized tribes were living in the area including the Oneota Dakota, Ho-Chunk, Iowa, and Otoe. Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet (French explorers) were first Europeans to […]
