Corydon: Indiana's First State Capital
The War of 1812 was going badly for America in the winter of 1813
when the Indiana Territory's General Assembly met in the territorial
capital of Vincennes. Although the war created financial difficulties
for the legislature, another greater problem was brewing--which city
would have the honor of becoming the new capital? Forces opposed to
former Territorial Governor William Henry Harrison, who had left the state to help fight the British, wanted to remove the capital from
the Harrison's Knox County stronghold. A number of
cities--Charlestown, Clarksville, Jeffersonville, Lawrenceburg, and
Madison (which offered to donate $10,000 if the legislators located
the capital there)--were considered before the lawmakers decided on
Corydon.
Corydon's selection, according to The Western Gazetteer, caused
"great dissatisfaction in other parts of the state." To forestall any
interference with the orderly transfer of the capital, the General
Assembly gave the territorial governor the power to call out the
militia to provide for the "safe conveyance of any books, papers, or
other thing by this act made necessary to be conveyed to the said
town of Corydon." The movement was made officially on 1 May 1813 and
the tiny hamlet served as the center of government for Indiana until
1825, when the capital was moved to Indianapolis.
The unpretentious square, Federal-style limestone building that
served as the state's first capitol (described by state historian
Jacob Piatt Dunn as "a rather imposing building for the time in
Indiana") began life as the Harrison County courthouse. The
building's stewards today, however, are not judges, but another
governmental authority, the Indiana State Museum System. The ISM
maintains the structure as a state historic site, along with the
nearby Gov. William Hendricks' Headquarters and the Constitutional
Elm.
In the early nineteenth century, the town of Corydon was "an
easy-going, old-fashioned Virginia village, with an ambition to be
decent and to cultivate the social spirit," according to Charles
Moores, an Indiana Historical Commission member writing in 1917. The
town occupied land purchased by William Henry Harrison in 1804; he
named the town after his favorite song, "The Pastoral Elegy," which
laments the death of a young shepherd, Corydon. One of the leading
figures in the town's early history was Dennis Pennington, former
speaker in the lower house of the territorial legislature who had
come to the area in the early 1800s. Known as a devoted champion for
Harrison County, "Uncle Dennis," as he was called, played a key role
in securing for Corydon its distinction as state capital.
A carpenter and contractor by trade, Pennington represented
Harrison County as its representative at the 1813 session of the
Indiana Territory's General Assembly. Maneuvering behind the scenes,
Pennington suggested Corydon as the perfect site for the next
capital, even noting that a new courthouse being constructed there
could be used as the territory's capitol. This new structure,
however, would not be completed very quickly. Although Corydon became
the capital in May 1813, the courthouse building would not be ready
for occupancy until 1816. Pennington supervised construction for the
$3,000 structure, an immense sum when it is considered that
surrounding counties were erecting log courthouses for about $500.
During the flurry of building activity in Corydon, the Indiana
Territory had reached the necessary 60,000 population to be
considered for statehood. Forty-three delegates were elected for a
constitutional convention (including Pennington), which met in
Corydon from 10 through 29 June 1816. Some sessions were held in the
new courthouse but, due to the oppressive summer heat, others were
organized beneath the shade of a massive elm tree (now known as the
Constitutional Elm) located just a short distance away. Delegates
approved the new constitution on 29 June 1816 and, six months later,
President James Madison signed legislation making Indiana the
nineteenth state.
The initial Indiana General Assembly met in the Corydon capitol
on 4 November 1816. Space was tight in the two-story building, as the
representatives, senators, and lieutenant governor had to share space
with the three Supreme Court judges, some of Gov. Jonathan Jennings'
officers, the county court, and county clerk. A bigger concern to
legislators during subsequent years was the cost for boarding in and
around Corydon during the sessions. The Corydon Indiana Gazette in
December 1820 noted that the "old famous resolution to remove the
legislature to Charleston or some other place where it is imagined
members can get boarding lower than Corydon is going the formal
rounds of legislation, when it is understood that no more is intended
by it than to beat down the prices of boarding." Prices for boarding,
fixed by the county commissioners, were37 1/2 cents for breakfast or
dinner, 12 1/2 cents for lodging, and 37 1/2 cents a quart for
whiskey.
Corydon's reign as the heart of Indiana government drew to a
close in 1820 when the legislature appointed a commission to find a
new site for the state capital. In the fall of 1824, Samuel Merrill,
state treasurer, led a group of wagons carrying the state's records
and finances on the one hundred and twenty-five-mile trip from
Corydon to Indianapolis. With the loss of its status as state
capitol, the Corydon building reverted to a full-time Harrison County
courthouse.
During the renewed interest in state history spawned by the
Indiana centennial celebration in 1916, plans were made to preserve
the old state capitol. In 1917, the General Assembly passed an act to
purchase the structure "as a memorial to the pioneers who established
the Commonwealth of Indiana." In the late 1920s, the old capitol
building was restored to its original appearance.
The Corydon Capitol State Historic Site is open free to the
public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to
5 p.m. on Sundays. Hours may vary, however, according to season. For
more information, write the site at 202 E. Walnut St., Corydon, IN
47112; or call (812)738-4890.
Return to IHS home page, Hoosier Heritage, or Destination Indiana