There are two defining characteristics that have shaped this Indiana town and its people: the land and the university.

Putnam County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 37,963. The county seat is Greencastle. The county was named for Israel Putnam, a hero in the French and Indian War and a general in the American Revolutionary War. The county was created in 1821 and organized in April 1822.Putnam County is included in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Greene County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 33,165. The county seat is Bloomfield. The county was determined by the US Census Bureau to include the mean center of U.S. population in 1930.

Terre Haute ( TERR-ə HOHT) is a city in and the county seat of Vigo County, Indiana, United States, only 5 miles east of state's western border with Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 60,785 and its metropolitan area had a population of 170,943. Located along the Wabash River, Terre Haute is one of the largest cities in the Wabash Valley and is known as the Queen City of the Wabash. The city is home to multiple higher education institutions, including Indiana State University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana.