Corydon, IN

Corydon: Indiana's First Capital

Standing in the doorway of a two-story, limestone building in the heart of Corydon, Ind., (pop. 2,715) tour guide Bonnie McKim beckons to her next group of visitors: 40 clamorous fourth-graders tumbling out of yellow school buses parked nearby.

Once inside, the kids giggle and squirm, but for the most part pay attention as McKim speaks about Indiana’s early years and quizzes them on facts they’ve learned in the classroom. Most of the students remember that from 1816 to 1825 Corydon was the capital of Indiana, before the seat of state government was relocated to Indianapolis. They also know the structure they are visiting once served as the first Statehouse. “But, do you know how the name Corydon came to be?” McKim asks the students.

The town began on land owned by William Henry Harrison, who served as governor of the Indiana Territory from 1800-1812 and later became the nation’s ninth president, she tells them. He named the town after a character in his favorite poem, The Pastoral Elegy.

“Lots of towns might be named after a president, but not many can claim to have been named by a president,” McKim says.

Each year about 30,000 visitors, including more than 7,000 students from nearly 100 different elementary schools in the Hoosier State, visit Corydon because of its historical significance.

They stop by the state’s first capitol building, restored to reflect its circa 1816 appearance, tour a renovated home of one of Indiana’s first governors, and check out the most famous tree in Indiana history—the Constitution Elm. Although it’s merely a trunk today, encased in a sandstone memorial, legend says the tree’s giant branches once shaded those who drafted the state’s constitution.

Just outside of town is the Battle of Corydon Memorial Park, which commemorates the site of the only Civil War battle fought in Indiana.

Residents are deservedly proud of their community’s past, says Bill Brockman, manager of the Corydon Capitol State Historic Site. Indiana’s blue and gold flag is as prevalent around town as Old Glory, and all kinds of businesses use “old capitol” or “first capital” in their names.

“It’s ol when it refers to the building; al when it refers to the town,” Brockman explains. “We even have an Old Capitol Coon Hunters Club.”

“The town is very preservation minded,” he emphasizes.

With eight buildings still standing from when Corydon was the state capital, the entire downtown area is designated a National Historic District. “When you consider that there were only 60 houses at that time, because we were just a small village, that’s a pretty good percentage,” Brockman says.

Today, the park square surrounding the old capitol building is used by workers from nearby businesses who relax there during lunch breaks; for band concerts every Friday night during the summer; and during Old Settlers’ Day, an annual July Fourth celebration featuring pioneer crafts and demonstrations.

Historic Corydon is a peaceful—yet thriving—community surrounded by farms, which specialize in popcorn and chicken production. Some residents commute to nearby Louisville, Ky., to work, while others are employed in local furniture, automotive, and poultry processing plants.

“Drive two miles any way from the center of town and you’re in the country,” says McKim, who was born in Corydon and returned 20 years ago to raise her own family. “It’s a great place to live. I think my daughter has had some of her fondest memories here, and my son says he wants to travel but will never move.”

Resident Larry Shickles loves to see school buses pull into town. “It’s important for people, especially young people, to learn about their roots, and rather than just reading it in a book to see the actual places where history took place.”

And, that’s Corydon, he says. “Every community has a contribution. Ours is that we helped Indiana become what it is today.”

Veda Eddy is a freelance writer in Columbus, Ind.

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