Are You in One of Indiana's Original Two Area Codes?

Every time you dial someone's number here in Indiana, you are first punching in their area code. Indiana has eight different area codes in 2022, but is your area using one of the original two area codes?

2022 marks the 75th anniversary of telephone area codes in the United States. Area codes aren't something we really tend to put much thought into nowadays. We simply type in someone's ten-digit phone number into our phones and go about our day. However, back in 1947, when area codes were first introduced, they were a pretty big deal. Then, there were only three area codes in the state of Indiana. One of our sister stations in another market took a deep dive into Michigan area codes, so I thought it might be interesting to find out if you are a part of one of the two original area codes in Indiana.

Indiana's Original Area Codes

In 1947, the Bell Telephone System (now AT&T) gave out 86 different area codes across the United States. Two of those area codes were given to Indiana. The area codes essentially split the state in half, with area code 317 serving Indianapolis north to Michigan, and area code 812 serving Bloomington south to Kentucky. So, we here in the Evansville area have one of the OG area codes. That's pretty interesting! According to telecomindiana.com, the map below:

reflects the 1947 area code assignment and Bell System served exchanges in Indiana. The remainder of Indiana was served by General Telephone, United Telephone and other independent and cooperative phone companies.

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The Evolution of Indiana's Area Codes

A year later, in 1948, Bell gave Indiana its first new area code. The northern area code, 317 was split, giving 317 to Indianapolis and central Indiana and a new 219 area code to northern Indiana.

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Indiana kept those same three area codes until its next addition in 1997. That's when Indianapolis was placed in a 317 bubble, and the rest of the original 317 area was given a 765 area code.

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The next area code split in Indiana occurred in 2002 when the 291 area code was split into three codes. The area code 219 was given to the western part of that area, 574 was given to the central, and 260 was assigned to the eastern portion of the original 219 area code.

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In 2015 the original 812 area code got an overlay. According to Twilio.com:

An Area Code Overlay is an area code that covers the same geographical space as another area code. In North America, each area code has a potential capacity of around 8 million unique phone numbers — 7,919,900, to be exact. Many area codes have exhausted all possible phone numbers, so one or more area codes are added to accommodate.

So, at that time, 812 area code users who got a new phone line prior to 2015 were given the area code 930. Likewise, in 2016, the latest change to Indiana's area codes came with the 317 area code receiving an overlay with the new 463 area code.

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According to telecomindiana.com,

No further area code relief is expected in Indiana until 2032 for 765 and more than 30 years for all other Indiana area codes.

(H/T- telecomindiana.com)

40 Real Indiana Towns with Quirky, Weird, and Funny Names

Outside the major cities, the Hoosier state is full of tiny little towns you've probably passed through on your way to one of those cities. Most of them are likely 100 to 150 years old, or older, and have been around far longer than the large metropolitan areas such as Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, South Bend, and Evansville. Typically, they were started by early settlers who found their way to the state and decided to make it home. Eventually, others would join them, and a community was formed. Over time, as the surrounding areas grew, most of them were folded into those areas and governed by the nearest city or county's governing body officially making them "unincorporated," meaning they did not have their own formally organized municipal government.

A scroll through Wikipedia's long list of unincorporated communities in Indiana shows several of them have names that by today's standards would be considered weird, quirky, or just downright right funny. These are my 40 favorities.

SEE: 35 Personalized License Plates the Indiana BMV Rejected

According to the BMV, personalized plate requests may be rejected if they contain the following, let's call them "red flags:"

Carries a meaning or connotation offensive to good taste and decency;
Would be misleading; or
The BMV otherwise considers improper for issuance.

There's no doubt each and every one of these violates one of those provisions, and most of them violate them all.

WARNING: Some of these may be considered Not Safe for Work

See 11 Unique Attractions You'll Only Find in Indiana

The website, RoadsideAmerica.com, which keeps tabs on the more unique attractions each state has to offer, lists 75 attractions for Indiana. The following 11 are the ones I found to be the most interesting and hope to see in person with my own eyes one of these days.