Corydon is a town in Harrison Township and the county seat of Harrison County, Indiana, located north of the Ohio River in the extreme southern part of the state. Corydon was founded in 1808 and served as the capital of the Indiana Territory from 1813 to 1816. It was the site of Indiana's first constitutional convention, which was held June 10–29, 1816. Forty-three delegates convened to consider statehood for Indiana and drafted its first state constitution. Under Article XI, Section 11, of the Indiana 1816 constitution, Corydon was designated as the capital of the state, which it remained until 1825, when the seat of state government was moved to Indianapolis. In 1863, during the American Civil War, Corydon was the site of the Battle of Corydon, the only official pitched battle waged in Indiana during the war. More recently, the town's numerous historic sites have helped it become a tourist destination. A portion of its downtown area is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Corydon Historic District. As of the 2010 census, Corydon had a population of 3,122.
During the American Revolution, George Rogers Clark captured the surrounding area of what became the town of Corydon from the British, bringing it under the control of the fledgling United States government.[4] The first American settlers entered Harrison County in 1792 and included the families of Harvey Heth and Squire Boone, who settled south of Corydon, and Dennis Pennington and the Harbisons, who settled east of Corydon.[5] The region was in the midst of the Northwest Indian War during that period and the families were forced by Native Americans to leave the region and return to Kentucky.[5] The families returned to the area in 1800 following the creation of the Indiana territory.[5]
The territorial government completed the land survey of what would become Corydon in 1807, and the first official land purchases occurred in April of that year.[6] In 1803, Edward Smith and his family became the first Americans to settle in what would become Corydon. Following the completion of the 1807 land survey, he purchased the tract of land he had already been living on; at that time his family were the only recorded inhabitants of the future site of the town.[6] He purchased land at the edge of a fertile valley near a large spring, which is the site of the present-day Harrison County fairgrounds.[6]William Henry Harrison, the first governor of the Indiana Territory and a future president of the United States, often stopped to rest at the Smith's home while travelling to and from Vincennes, the territorial capital.[7]
In 1804 Harrison purchased a tract of land where Big Indian Creek and Little Indian Creek join to become Indian Creek and decided to build a town on the site.[8] Harrison built a two-story home in the town, but sold it in 1809.[9] The town gets its name from "The Pastoral Elegy," a hymn that celebrates the death of a shepherd named Corydon.[8][10] Tradition says that Harrison asked Edward Smith's daughter, Jenny, to name the town and she chose the name from Harrison's favorite hymn, "The Pastoral Elegy."[11]
Harrison sold the town site to Harvey Heth in 1807.[8][10] Corydon's official founding date of 1808 commemorates the year when Heth, a U.S. government surveyor and landowner, platted the town. Heth donated the town square for public use and sold individual lots to settlers and the territorial government.[11] When Harrison County was established in 1808, Corydon became its county seat of government.[8] The town originally consisted of 185 lots.[7] In 1809 Corydon was connected by road to Doup's Ferry, 15 miles (24km) to the south at Mauck's Port, providing access to the Ohio River for trade.[12] The first county courthouse was built at the northwest corner of the town at the summit of High Street.[12]
Corydon quickly grew into one of the most important early settlements in Indiana, in large part due to the political successes of its early inhabitants and as one of the main stops on the only land route to the territorial capital of Vincennes. During the War of 1812, Corydon sent a mounted militia company nicknamed the Yellow Jackets to support the territorial army. The company fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe, where it suffered more casualties than any other unit.[13]
Corydon became the second capital of the Indiana Territory on May 1, 1813, when it was relocated from Vincennes in Knox County. Opponents of William Henry Harrison, the former territorial governor, wanted to move the capital away from his political stronghold in Knox County. Supporters of the move felt that relocation of the territorial capital to the east would provide a more centralized location for its citizens, especially after its western portion was reorganized to form the Illinois Territory in 1809.[10][11][14]
Corydon competed with Charlestown, Clarksville, Lawrenceburg, Madison, and Jeffersonville to become the new territorial capital.[15]Dennis Pennington, a Harrison County representative and the speaker of the territorial legislature's lower house, helped secure the town's selection during the 1813 session of the Indiana Territory's general assembly. Pennington pointed out that Corydon would be an ideal location. The Harrison County court had approved a design for a new county courthouse on Corydon's public square in 1811 and it could be used as an assembly building for the territorial legislature. Pennington supervised construction of the limestone courthouse, which was nearly completed when Indiana's first state legislature convened at Corydon in 1816.[10][16][17] Prior to 1816, the territorial legislature met in the original county courthouse on High Street.[18]
Paul and Susannah Mitchem became Quakers and immigrated to Harrison County from North Carolina in 1814, bringing with them 107slaves whom they freed after arriving.[19] Most of the former slaves then settled around the town of Corydon.[20][21] Although some of the former slaves left, the group became one of the largest communities of free blacks in the state.[19]
On April 19, 1816, President James Madison signed an Enabling Act that provided for the election of delegates to a convention at Corydon to consider statehood for Indiana. Forty-three delegates, including five men from Harrison County, convened June 10–29, 1816, to draft Indiana's first state constitution.[22][23] The preamble of the constitution acknowledges the site of the historic gathering: "We the Representatives of the people of the Territory of Indiana, in Convention met, at Corydon, on Monday the tenth day of June in the year of our Lord eighteen hundred and sixteen,..."[24]
The delegates met in an unfinished log cabin near the Harrison County courthouse, which had not yet been completed; due to cramped conditions and the summer heat, the men often sought refuge outside under a giant elm tree, later named the Constitution Elm. Although the tree was lost to Dutch Elm Disease in 1825, a portion of its trunk has been preserved, surrounded by a sandstone memorial built by the WPA during the Great Depression in the 1930s.[25][26][27] The delegates completed their work in nineteen days, adjourning on June 29, 1816, when the newly signed state constitution went into effect.[28] As outlined in Article XI, Section 11, of the constitution of 1816: "Corydon, in Harrison County shall be the seat of Government of the state of Indiana, until the year eighteen hundred and twenty-five, and until removed by law."[29]
Corydon's selection as the capital led to rapid growth of the town and a housing shortage. There were only three taverns for visitor lodging in 1813. A fourth and much larger tavern, the Kintner House Tavern, opened in 1819. Many officials, including three successive Governors, and their staff moved to Corydon and built large homes in the town. The town hosted meetings from national officials, including an 1819 visit by United States President James Monroe and Andrew Jackson.[30]
State capital (1816–1825)
The Constitution Elm as seen in the summer of 2006
On November 4, 1816, the Indiana General Assembly met for the first time at Corydon under the new constitution and state government.[31] President James Madison signed the congressional resolution admitting Indiana as the nineteenth state in the Union on December 11, 1816,[32] and Corydon began a new era as the first state capital of Indiana.[10][33]
The Harrison County courthouse, now known as the Old Capitol, served as Indiana's first state capitol building. It housed state government offices from 1816 until 1825.[10] Several other historic structures in Corydon date from the early statehood era, including the Governor's Mansion and the Old Treasury Building (Indiana's first state office building), which were built in 1817, and the Colonel Thomas Lloyd Posey home, among others.[34][35] Corydon's Grand Masonic Lodge, the first in the state, was built in 1819.[36]
The state constitution's provision making Corydon the seat of state government was not a popular one, especially among the citizens of rival towns. Others expressed concern that the town's geographic location in the extreme southern part of Indiana would become inconvenient as the state's population center shifted northward; however, Dennis Pennington and other Harrison County representatives to the Indiana General Assembly successfully resisted attempts to move the seat of government from Corydon until 1825.[32][38][39] Governor Hendricks signed a legislative bill in 1824 to move the state capital to Indianapolis,[40] effective January 10, 1825.[41]
Post-capital period
After the seat of state government moved to Indianapolis in 1825, Corydon continued its role as the seat of county government and a market town for the surrounding agricultural area.[42] In 1826 a new County Clerk's office was constructed which remained the principal county office until 1848.[18] During the early days of the town, Big Indian Creek and Little Indian Creek were both used for drinking water, bathing, and sewage, which resulted in a cholera outbreak in 1832. Following the outbreak, the town only used the creeks for bathing and multiple wells were dug for drinking water.[7] In 1836, the town began spreading gravel on the roads, which had been dirt roads before.[43]
During 1848, a new two-story federal style brick office building was constructed on the east side of the county courthouse. This second office building remained in use until 1881.[44] On September 11–14, 1860, the first annual county fair was held on Corydon's 36-acre (15ha) fairgrounds. It has been an annual event since 1860, making it the longest consecutive-running annual county fair in the state.[45] The fairgrounds, established in the southwest corner of town, are bordered on the south and west by a large ridge that served as a natural grandstand until the first grandstand was built, circa 1910.[46]
During the Civil War, Corydon was the site of the only "official pitched battle" fought in Indiana. On July 9, 1863, Confederatebrigadier generalJohn Hunt Morgan's cavalry of more than 2,000 men crossed the Ohio River into Indiana to begin what is known as "Morgan's Raid". The Confederate troops opposed about 450 members of a hastily assembled home guard at the Battle of Corydon outside of town, but the Union forces were quickly defeated and the town surrendered.[47]
Corydon was sacked in retaliation for Union looting in Kentucky, the town's treasury of $690 was seized, and the inmates of the local jail were released. General Morgan demanded $600 to $700 in ransom from each mill and shop owner to keep their buildings from being burned. Tradition says one Corydon miller overpaid by $200; Morgan promptly returned it to him.[48][49]
Post-Civil War Period
Corydon in 1896, looking southward from Walnut Street
In 1871 local journalists began to bring the condition of the first Indiana statehouse to public attention. The building had become filthy and infested with fleas and other pests such that many people refused to enter it. Their campaign proved successful, and in 1873 the building was given a major renovation. The walls and ceilings were replastered, a new staircase and furnishings were installed, and the building was thoroughly cleaned.[43]
In 1881 the county began construction of its third office building after demolishing the prior building. The building was completed in June 1882 and remained in use until 1929.[44] The state of Indiana purchased the 1816 courthouse to preserve as a state historic site following the move.[50] Beginning in 1882, the Louisville, New Albany and Corydon Railroad, an 8-mile (13km) spur of the Southern Railway, connected Corydon to other towns in the region.[42] Southern Railroad's main line ran across northern Harrison County at Crandall, and remained open to passenger traffic until 1996. As of 2008, the line was owned by Lucas Oil. A major fire broke out in 1871, in which the Kintner House Tavern was destroyed, along with the entire block from Cherry to Beaver Streets. The county jail also burned in the blaze. A second major fire broke out in Corydon on April 20, 1883, in the west end of Corydon; seven businesses, stables, and multiple homes were destroyed. The fire would have spread further, but it slowed as it spread through a lumber yard containing only freshly cut timber that did not burn easily. This allowed the townspeople to get the upper hand and extinguish the fire, but most of the western portion of the town was burned. It was not until 1922 that all the lots were rebuilt.[51]
Corydon's Old West Bridge in 1889
In 1889 an attempted murder in Corydon resulted in a lynching. A mob of 150 mounted men, led by twenty masked Indiana white cap vigilantes, arrived at the county jail and demanded the release into their custody of two men (James Devin and Charles Tennyson) being held on charges of attempted murder. The leaders of the group demanded the keys to the jail, threatening to burn down the town if they were refused; after the sheriff refused to hand over the keys, the mob used hammers to knock down the jail doors and removed the two alleged assailants. The two men were dragged to the old Western Bridge, where they were hanged.[52][53]
In 1917 the state of Indiana purchased the historic capitol building with the goal of restoring it. The Federal-style building opened as a state memorial in 1929–30; it is a part of the Corydon Capitol State Historic Site. The Harrison County government also used the former statehouse until a new, three-story county courthouse was completed in 1929, located on the north side of the original 1816 courthouse.[35][54][55]
In 1960 a fire destroyed much of the Harrison County Fairgrounds, including its grandstand. A replacement grandstand was acquired from the minor league baseball team at Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky, is still in use.[56]
In 1969 Corydon-born environmental historian Samuel P. Hays donated the 311-acre (126-hectare)Hayswood Nature Reserve to the county. Known as Hayswood Park, it is the county's second largest nature reserve.[citation needed][57]
In 1973 a portion of Corydon's downtown area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Corydon Historic District. Initially, the district included major sites dating from the period when Corydon was a territorial and state capital: the Old Capitol/Harrison County Courthouse building, the Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, Constitution Elm, the first state office building, the Kintner-McGrain House (Cedar Glade), and the Posey House, among others. In 1989 the historic district's boundary was increased to include The Kintner House Inn, among other commercial and residential buildings.[42][58][59]
In 2008 Corydon celebrated its bicentennial anniversary with a year-long series of events that included the unveiling of a $200,000 bronze statue of Honorable Frank O'Bannon, the late governor of Indiana and a former citizen of Corydon.[60]
A local attraction in Corydon was Butt Drugs, a drugstore known for its unique name, service, and merchandise. The store opened in 1952 and closed in 2023.[61]
Corydon is located near the center of Harrison County. Indiana State Road 62 passes through the town from east to west; Interstate 64 passes in the same direction less than a mile north of the town. The state capitol of Indianapolis is about 120 miles (190km) to the north, and the city of Louisville, Kentucky is about 25 miles (40km) to the east. Indian Creek passes through the town; the creek continues to the southwest where it empties into the Ohio River.[63]
According to the 2010 census, Corydon has a total area of 1.65 square miles (4.27km2), all land.[64]
As of the census[66] of 2010, there were 3,122 people, 1,341 households, and 716 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,892.1 inhabitants per square mile (730.5/km2). There were 1,491 housing units at an average density of 903.6 per square mile (348.9/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.7% White, 0.7% African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.9% from other races, and 1.2% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.6% of the population.
There were 1,341 households, of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.6% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.9% had a male householder with no wife present, and 46.6% were non-families. 41.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.88.
The median age in the town was 40.8 years. 20.5% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 24.9% were from 25 to 44; 22.4% were from 45 to 64; and 23.4% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 45.6% male and 54.4% female.
2000 census
As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 2,715 people, 1,171 households, and 674 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,708.1 inhabitants per square mile (659.5/km2). There were 1,271 housing units at an average density of 799.6 per square mile (308.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 97.27% White, 1.14% African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.85% from other races, and 0.18% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.88% of the population.
There were 1,171 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.4% were married couples living together, 13.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.4% were non-families. 37.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 19.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 20.1% under the age of 18, 10.2% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 24.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.2 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $33,823, and the median income for a family was $41,630. Males had a median income of $29,159 versus $21,699 for females. The per capita income for the town was $20,740. About 9.8% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.2% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.
Corydon has a public library, a branch of the Harrison County Public Library.[68]
Arts and culture
The historic town square
Because of its historic sites and the historic events that took place at Corydon, it has become a southern Indiana tourist destination. The town hosts weekly events from early spring until late fall, usually centered on its historic town square. Local events include an annual Halloween Parade, the Harrison County Fair, Friday night band concerts during the summer, and an annual reenactment of the Battle of Corydon, as well as country and bluegrass music performances. A weeklong county fair is held the third week of June at the Harrison County fairgrounds. It is one of Corydon's more popular events, with attendance usually exceeding 3,000 each night. The fair includes 4-H exhibits, a midway, demolition derbies, harness racing, and musical entertainment.[69]
The Corydon Democrat, a weekly newspaper, has served the local area since 1856.[75] It was the property of O'Bannon Publishing Company from 1907 to 2022. On June 30, 2022, O'Bannon Publishing sold the paper to Paxton Media Group.
1 2 3 4 5 6 Robert M. Taylor Jr.; Errol Wayne Stevens; Mary Ann Ponder; Paul Brockman (1992). Indiana: A New Historical Guide. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. p.169. ISBN0871950499.
↑ John D. Barnhart and Dorothy L. Riker, ed. (1971). Indiana to 1816: The Colonial Period. The History of Indiana. Vol.I. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society. p.355.
↑ Ray E. Boomhower (2000). Destination Indiana: Travels Through Hoosier History. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. p.15. ISBN0871951479.
↑ "The Setting for the Convention, " in Pamela J. Bennett, ed. (September 1999). "Indiana Statehood". The Indiana Historian. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau: 6.
↑ Harrison County's delegates were John Boone, Davis Floyd, Daniel C. Lane, Dennis Pennington, and Patrick Shields. See Barnhart and Riker, pp. 441–42.
↑ Earl L. Conn (2006). My Indiana: 101 Places to See. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. p.204. ISBN978-0-87195-195-3.
↑ Frederick P. Griffin (1974). The Story of Indiana's Constitution Elm, Corydon, Indiana, June 1816. Corydon, IN: General Print Company. pp.10–13. OCLC3901490. See also William P. McLauchlan (1996). The Indiana State Constitution: A Reference Guide. Reference Guides to the State Constitutions of the United States. Vol.26. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. p.2. ISBN978-0-313-29208-8.
↑ McDonald, Daniel (1898). A History of Freemasonry in Indiana from 1806 to 1898(PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of the Ancient and Honorable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of Indiana. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
↑ Linda C. Gugin; James E. St. Clair, eds. (2006). The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and Indiana Historical Society Press. p.57. ISBN0871951967.
↑ Donald F. Carmony (1998). Indiana, 1816–1850: The Pioneer Era. The History of Indiana. Vol.I. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society. pp.112–13. ISBN0871951258.
↑ "Corydon Battle Site". State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
↑ "Leora Brown School". Indiana Historical Bureau. Retrieved August 11, 2016. See also: "Leora Brown School". State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
Harrison County is located in the far southern part of the U.S. state of Indiana along the Ohio River. The county was officially established in 1808. Its population was 39,654 as of the 2020 United States Census. Its county seat is Corydon, the former capital of Indiana.
Frank Lewis O'Bannon was an American politician who served as the 47th governor of Indiana from 1997 until his death in 2003. He is the most recent U.S. Governor to have died in office.
The Indiana Territory, officially the Territory of Indiana, was created by an organic act that President John Adams signed into law on May 7, 1800, to form an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1800, to December 11, 1816, when the remaining southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the state of Indiana. The territory originally contained approximately 259,824 square miles (672,940 km2) of land, but its size was decreased when it was subdivided to create the Michigan Territory (1805) and the Illinois Territory (1809). The Indiana Territory was the first new territory created from lands of the Northwest Territory, which had been organized under the terms of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. The territorial capital was the settlement around the old French fort of Vincennes on the Wabash River, until transferred to Corydon near the Ohio River in 1813.
Jonathan Jennings was an American politician who was the first governor of the State of Indiana and a nine-term congressman from Indiana. Born in either Hunterdon County, New Jersey, or Rockbridge County, Virginia, he studied law before migrating to the Indiana Territory in 1806. Jennings initially intended to practice law, but took jobs as an assistant at the federal land office at Vincennes and assistant to the clerk of the territorial legislature to support himself and pursued interests in land speculation and politics. Jennings became involved in a dispute with the territorial governor, William Henry Harrison, that soon led him to enter politics and set the tone for his early political career. In 1808 Jennings moved to the eastern part of the Indiana Territory and settled near Charlestown, in Clark County. He was elected as the Indiana Territory's delegate to the U.S. Congress by dividing the pro-Harrison supporters and running as an anti-Harrison candidate. By 1812, he was the leader of the anti-slavery and pro-statehood faction of the territorial government. Jennings and his political allies took control of the territorial assembly and dominated governmental affairs after the resignation of Governor Harrison in 1812. As a congressional delegate Jennings aided passage of the Enabling Act in 1816, which authorized the organization of Indiana's state government and state constitution. He was elected president of the Indiana constitutional convention, held in Corydon in June 1816, where he helped draft the state's first constitution. Jennings supported the effort to ban slavery in the state and favored a strong legislative branch of government.
Robert Hanna Jr. is best known as one of the forty-three delegates to the 1816 Indiana Constitutional Convention and Indiana's third U.S. Senator after it achieved statehood in 1816. A native of Laurens County, South Carolina, he settled in the Indiana Territory shortly after it was established in 1800 and began his long career as a public servant in Brookville, Indiana. Hanna served as the first Franklin County sheriff (1809–20), as a brigadier general in the state militia, and as the United States General Land Office registrar in Brookville and Indianapolis (1820–30). Hanna was appointed to fill the vacant seat in the U.S. Senate following the death of James Noble in 1831. Hanna served in the U.S. Senate from August 19, 1831, to January 3, 1832. After his return to Indianapolis, Hanna represented Marion County in the Indiana House of Representatives and in the Indiana Senate.
The Indiana Statehouse is the state capitol building of the U.S. state of Indiana. It houses the Indiana General Assembly, the office of the Governor of Indiana, the Indiana Supreme Court, and other state officials. The Statehouse is located in the capital city of Indianapolis at 200 West Washington Street. Built in 1888, it is the fifth building to house the state government.
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, the Old Treasury Building, Governor Hendricks' Headquarters, the Constitution Elm Memorial, the Posey House, the Kintner-McGrain House, and The Kintner House Inn, as well as other residential and commercial sites.
The Kintner-Mcgrain House, also known as Cedar Glade, is on the National Register of Historic Places, located north of downtown Corydon, Indiana. It attained the "Cedar Glade" name due to the giant red cedars Jacob Kintner, the builder, planted in front of the house. It was built in 1808 by Jacob Kintner and his wife Agnes Crist, the same year Corydon became a town. Cedar Glade had Corydon's first water works, with Mr. Kintner laying pipe from springs behind the home to supply ever-flowing clear and cool spring water to the house, barns and his tan yard across the road. Few homes anywhere in those early days would have had such a system. It has been owned by three different families: Kintners (1808), McGrains(1849), and Bennetts (1998). It is the second-oldest building in Harrison County, Indiana. It was built in 1808, and is a Late Federal/Early Republic Style, L-shaped, brick dwelling. One of Jacob Kintner's sons, Peter Shipley Kintner, often traveled abroad. After Jacob Kintner's death, Peter S. Kintner "the world traveler" traded Cedar Glade in 1849 to Thomas McGrain Sr. for a business building on Main Street in Louisville. McGrain moved from Louisville to Corydon and young Peter Kintner moved to Paris, France. When Peter died, his remains were shipped back to Corydon and he was buried in the family plot on Cedar Hill. Of course, this was before the age of refrigeration and embalming, and Peter's body was shipped across the Atlantic in alcohol. During John Hunt Morgan's raid in 1863, noncombatants took refuge in the house. Ironically, several cannonballs landed in the front yard, none hit the house. Until 1946 it was a working farm.
The history of human activity in Indiana, a U.S. state in the Midwest, stems back to the migratory tribes of Native Americans who inhabited Indiana as early as 8000 BC. Tribes succeeded one another in dominance for several thousand years and reached their peak of development during the period of Mississippian culture. The region entered recorded history in the 1670s, when the first Europeans came to Indiana and claimed the territory for the Kingdom of France. After France ruled for a century, it was defeated by Great Britain in the French and Indian War and ceded its territory east of the Mississippi River. Britain held the land for more than twenty years, until after its defeat in the American Revolutionary War, then ceded the entire trans-Allegheny region, including what is now Indiana, to the newly formed United States.
Slavery in Indiana occurred between the time of French rule during the late seventeenth century and 1826, with a few traces of slavery afterward.
The Constitution of Indiana is the highest body of state law in the U.S. state of Indiana. It establishes the structure and function of the state and is based on the principles of federalism and Jacksonian democracy. Indiana's constitution is subordinate only to the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Prior to the enactment of Indiana's first state constitution and achievement of statehood in 1816, the Indiana Territory was governed by territorial law. The state's first constitution was created in 1816, after the U.S. Congress had agreed to grant statehood to the former Indiana Territory. The present-day document, which went into effect on November 1, 1851, is the state's second constitution. It supersedes Indiana's 1816 constitution and has had numerous amendments since its initial adoption.
Dennis Pennington was a farmer and a stonemason who became known for his many years in public office as an early legislator in the Indiana Territory and in Indiana's General Assembly as a representative of Harrison County, Indiana. Pennington, a member of the Whig Party, became the first speaker of the Indiana territorial legislature's lower house in 1810, served as the territory's census enumerator in 1815, and represented Harrison County as one of its five delegates to the constitutional convention of 1816. Pennington was the first speaker of the Indiana Senate, and served in the state legislature for eighteen years, which included five years in the Indiana House of Representatives and thirteen years in the Indiana Senate. His major political contributions relate to his strong opposition to slavery. Pennington ran unsuccessfully for Indiana's Lieutenant Governor in 1825. In addition to his service in the state legislature, Penning was a Harrison County sheriff and a justice of the peace, a trustee of Indiana University, and a member of the Grand Lodge of Indiana. He also supervised construction of the limestone courthouse that served as Indiana's first state capitol building in Corydon, Indiana. The historic Old Capitol, the seat of state government from 1816 to 1825, is one of his most enduring legacies. Fondly remembered as "Old Uncle Dennis" or "Father Pennington," he was known for his common sense and strong character and became one of Harrison County's most influential citizens.
Judith "Judy" O'Bannon Willsey is the former First Lady of the State of Indiana, serving in that role from January 13, 1997, to September 13, 2003, during the administration of her husband Governor Frank O'Bannon. She has been a leader in community development and historic preservation throughout much of her life, including having helped launch and then serving as chair of the Indiana Main Street program, and serving on the boards of the Indiana Landmarks foundation, the Indiana State Museum and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. She is also an Emmy-winning host and producer of the WFYI-TV public television series Communities Building Community and Judy O'Bannon's Foreign Exchange as well as several one-time specials, and as the chair of O'Bannon Publishing Company, published two weekly newspapers, including the award-winning The Corydon Democrat.
Christopher Harrison (1780–1868) was the first Lieutenant Governor of Indiana, serving with Governor Jonathan Jennings. Harrison was briefly acting governor while Jennings' was conducting negotiation with the native tribes in northern Indiana, and later resigned from office over a dispute with Jennings. Harrison became a Quaker in his later life and freed all the slaves he inherited from his family. He lived a long life for his era, and died at age 88. There is no known relationship between Harrison and an early territorial governor of Indiana, William Henry Harrison.
Benjamin Parke was an American lawyer, politician, militia officer, businessman, treaty negotiator in the Indiana Territory who also served as a United States federal judge in Indiana after it attained statehood in 1816. Parke was the Indiana Territory's attorney general (1804–1808); a representative to the territory's first general assembly (1805); its first territorial delegate to the United States House of Representatives (1805–1808); one of the five Knox County delegates to the Indiana constitutional convention of 1816; and a territorial court judge (1808–1816). After Indiana attained statehood, Parke served as the first United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Indiana (1817–1835).
Vincennes Historic District is a national historic district located at Vincennes, Knox County, Indiana. The district encompasses 1,161 contributing buildings, 5 contributing sites, 9 contributing structures, and 37 contributing objects in the central business district and surrounding residential sections of Vincennes. It developed between about 1787 and 1955, and includes notable examples of Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, and Classical Revival style architecture. Located in the district are the separately listed George Rogers Clark National Historical Park, William Henry Harrison Home, Indiana Territorial Capitol, Old State Bank, and St. Francis Xavier Cathedral and Library. Other notable buildings include the Brouillet House, Knox County Courthouse (1873), Ellis Mansion, Lacy House, Dunn House (1840), Summers House, Fyfield House (1860), Grannan House, Cauthorn House, Gimble-Bond Store (1879), and Rabb House.
The Corydon Democrat is a community newspaper in Corydon, Harrison County, Indiana, U.S., which has approximately 6,250 copies in circulation. It is published every Wednesday by the O’Bannon Publishing Company, and has been family-owned since 1963.
The 1816 Indiana gubernatorial election took place on August 5, 1816, under the provisions of the recently ratified Constitution of Indiana. It was the first gubernatorial election in the State of Indiana. Jonathan Jennings, the longtime U.S. territorial delegate from Indiana and president of the state's constitutional convention, defeated Thomas Posey, the incumbent territorial governor, with 56.9% of the vote. The election was held concurrently with elections for lieutenant governor and members of the Indiana General Assembly.
"About Us". The Corydon Democrat. August 3, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
Barnhart, John D., and Dorothy L. Riker, eds. (1971). Indiana to 1816: The Colonial Period. The History of Indiana. Vol.I. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Bennett, Pamela J., ed. (September 1999). "Indiana Statehood". The Indiana Historian. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau.{{cite journal}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Boomhower, Ray E. (2000). Destination Indiana: Travels Through Hoosier History. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN0871951479.
Carmony, Donald F. (1998). Indiana, 1816–1850: The Pioneer Era. The History of Indiana. Vol.I. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and the Indiana Historical Society. ISBN0871951258.
Conn, Earl L. (2006). My Indiana: 101 Places to See. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN978-0-87195-195-3.
"Corydon Battle Site". State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
Griffin, Frederick P. (1974). The Story of Indiana's Constitution Elm, Corydon, Indiana, June 1816. Corydon, IN: General Print Company. OCLC3901490.
Griffin, Frederick P. (1986). Harrison County's Earliest Years. Corydon, IN: O'Bannon Publishing Co. Inc.
Gugin, Linda C.; James E. St. Clair, eds. (2006). The Governors of Indiana. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Bureau and Indiana Historical Society Press. ISBN0871951967.
"Leora Brown School". State Historic Architectural and Archaeological Research Database (SHAARD). Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
Taylor Jr.; Robert M.; Errol Wayne Stevens; Mary Ann Ponder; Paul Brockman (1992). Indiana: A New Historical Guide. Indianapolis: Indiana Historical Society. ISBN0871950499.
Thompson, Donald E., ed. (1974). Indiana Authors and Their Books, 1917–1966. Crawfordsville, IN: Wabash College.{{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
