Corydon Historic District

The Corydon Historic District is a national historic district located in Corydon, Indiana, United States. The town of Corydon is also known as Indiana's First State Capital and as Historic Corydon. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, but the listing was amended in 1988 to expand the district's geographical boundaries and include additional sites. The district includes numerous historical structures, most notably the Old Capitol (Indiana's first state capitol building), the Old Treasury Building (Indiana's first state office building), Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, the Constitution Elm Memorial, the Posey House, the Kintner-McGrain House (Cedar Glade), and The Kintner House Inn, as well as other residential and commercial sites.

History

Corydon, Indiana, which was platted in 1808, continues to serve as the county seat of government for Harrison County, Indiana. The town served as the second capital of the Indiana Territory from 1813 to 1816, but it is best known for its service as the first capital of Indiana from 1816 to 1825. Some of the most significant structures within the historic district date from this early period of the town's history, including the Old Capitol, the centerpiece of the district.

Corydon became the seat of government for the Indiana Territory when the territorial capital was moved from Vincennes, in Knox County, shortly after the outbreak of the War of 1812. Dennis Pennington, a Harrison County representative and the speaker of the territorial legislature's lower house, helped secure Corydon's selection as the capital by pointing out that the Harrison County Courthouse, which the county government planned to build on Corydon's public square, could be used as an assembly building for the territorial legislature. Pennington was awarded the contract to supervise construction of the courthouse, which became known as the Old Capitol.