Corydon, Indiana
Town of Corydon, Indiana | |
|---|---|
 Downtown Corydon Indiana viewed from the Pilot Knob in the Hayswood Nature Reserve | |
 Location in the state of Indiana | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Indiana |
| County | Harrison |
| Township | Harrison |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2) |
| • Land | 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km2) |
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 587 ft (179 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
• Total | 2,715 |
| • Density | 1,708/sq mi (659.3/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code | 47112 |
| Area code | 812 |
| FIPS code | 18-15256Template:GR |
| GNIS feature ID | 0433003Template:GR |
| Website | http://www.thisisindiana.org/ |
Corydon is a town in Harrison Township, Harrison County, Indiana, United States, founded in 1808, and is known as Indiana's First State Capital. Corydon was the second capital of the Indiana Territory from May 1, 1813 until December 11, 1816. After statehood, the town was the capital of Indiana until January 10, 1825 when it moved to Indianapolis. The town remains the county seat of Harrison CountyTemplate:GR and had a population was 2,715 at the 2000 census.
History
Corydon has a rich history dating back to the American Revolution when the region was captured by George Rogers Clark from the British, bringing it under the control of the United States.
In the early 1800s the family of Edward Smith moved into land on the edge of a fertile valley near a large spring, now the site of the county fairgrounds. William Henry Harrison, Governor of the Indiana Territory, often stopped to rest at their home while traveling between the east and Vincennes. One day while at their farm, he discovered a spot where the Big Indian Creek and Little Indian Creek join to become the Indian Creek, and decided it would make a good location for a town. Local legend says that one day he decided that he would build a town on that land and suggested that the family's daughter, Jenny Smith, name the proposed town. Taking the name of a shepherd from Harrison's favorite hymn, called Pastoral Elegy, she chose the name "Corydon". Harrison thought the name was fitting, and thus began the history of Corydon.[1]
Early history
The land of Corydon remained in Harrison's possession for a few years, but he sold it to Harvey Heth in 1808. The official founding date for the town was 1808 when it was platted by Heth, a government surveyor which is a large local landholder. The town square was donated by Heth for public use; he sold individual lots to settlers and later the territorial government.[1] The town was connected by road to Doup's Ferry, fifteen miles to the south in Mauck's Port in 1809, giving Corydon good access to the Ohio River for trade. The town and county sent a large company of militia called the Yellow Jackets to support the territorial army in the War of 1812 and they took part in the Battle of Tippecanoe, suffering higher casualties than any other unit.
In 1811 construction on the first state capitol was begun by Dennis Pennington with the intention of it being used as an assembly building for the territorial legislature. Pennington, a Corydon resident, was the speaker of territorial legislature. Corydon was competing with Madison and Jeffersonville to become the new capitol of the territory. Construction, using limestone from a nearby quarry, was completed in 1813.[2] The Governor's Mansion and First State Office Building were built in 1817. The home of Colonel Thomas Posey was also built during this time. Colonel Posey was the son of Thomas Posey, Governor of Indiana Territory from 1813 until 1816. The Grand Masonic Lodge, the first in the state, was built in 1819. Corydon became the second capital of the Indiana Territory on May 1, 1813, when it was moved there from Vincennes to be more centralized with the population of the newly reorganized Indiana Territory.[1]
The state's first constitution was drawn up in Corydon during June 1816. The forty-three delegates representing Indiana Territory's counties where charged with the writing of the state's constitution and met inside the Harrison County Courthouse. Because of cramped conditions inside the courthouse and the summer heat, the delegates often sought refuge outside under a giant elm tree next to Big Indian Creek. This tree is now known as the Constitution Elm, and its trunk is still preserved.[3] The preamble of the constitution began:
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
After statehood, Corydon served as the first state capital of Indiana.[4] During the eleven years that Corydon served as a capital it was the center of politics in the state and residents included Davis Floyd, Jonathan Jennings the first Governor of Indiana, and Dennis Pennington first Speaker of the Senate, Ratliff Boon the second governor, and William Hendricks the first Congressman, third governor and Senator.
Dennis Pennington and others from Harrison County in the Indiana General Assembly attempted to delay moving the capital, and they did succeed by keeping there for a few years longer during the consitional convention by having a clause added preventing the capital from the leaving the town before 1825. But ultimately, as the population center of the state shifted continually northward, it was no longer convenient to have a state capital at the southern extremity of the state. So the capital was finally moved to Indianapolis on January 10, 1825.
Post-capital period
On September 11–14, 1860 the first annual county fair was held on Corydon's 36 acres (15 ha) fairgrounds. The fair has been an annual event since then and is the longest continuously running fair in the state.[5] The fairgrounds were built in the southwest corner of Corydon where it is bordered on the south and west by a large ridge which served as a natural grandstands until the first grandstands were built around 1910[6]
Corydon was the site of the only Civil War battle fought in Indiana. On July 9, 1863, a Confederate contingent led by Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, aided by the citizens of Brandenburg, Kentucky, crossed the Ohio River into Indiana during what became known as "Morgan's Raid." Over 2,500 mounted cavalry men with two pieces of artillery engaged about 400 hastily prepared home guard units at the Battle of Corydon, resulting in a Confederate victory and the town surrendering to Morgan. The town was subsequently sacked, the treasury robbed of $690, and inmates of the jail released. Morgan demanded amounts of money ranging from $600 to $700 of each mill and shop owner if they wanted to spare their businesses from being burnt. Town myth says that one such miller overpaid two hundred dollars which Morgan promptly returned to him.[7][8]
The railroad reached Corydon in 1882. Corydon was connected by Southern Railways to the main line running across northern Harrison County at Crandall. The line remained open to passenger traffic until 1996. In 2008 the line was owned by Lucas Oil.
The town of Corydon was shocked by an attempted murder in 1889, the first in the town's history. The two attempted murderers, Devin and Tennyson, were being held in the county jail when a mob of angry citizens burst into the jail and drug them down to the old Western Bridge and hung them by the neck until dead.[9] The vigilantes were never prosecuted.
A new county courthouse was completed and occupied in 1929 by the county government. The county government had been occupying the old state capitol building up until that time. The old statehouse was converted into a memorial after the move.
There was a fire in 1960 that destroyed a large part of County Fairgrounds including the grandstand. A new grandstand was purchased from the minor league baseball team from Parkway Field in Louisville, Kentucky. This grandstand, after renovations, was still in use by 2008. In 1969 Samuel P. Hays donated the 311 acre Hayswood Nature Reserve to the county. It is commonly referred to as the Hayswood Park by residents. It was developed in 1973 by adding public facilities to the western part of the reserve. It is the second largest nature reserve in the county.
The Old Capitol Building is now a state historic site and the entire downtown area was designated a National Historic District in 1973. The Governor's Headquarters, Constitution Elm, First State Office Building and Posey House are also part of the state historic site. Corydon is also the home to O'Bannon Publishing, which prints the Corydon Democrat, the local weekly newspaper. The late Indiana Governor Frank O'Bannon was owner of the publishing company and was one of the town's most prominent citizens. O'Bannon's wife is still living near the town.
Present town
Because of its historic nature, Corydon is a well-known regional tourist destination. The town hosts weekly events from early spring until late fall, usually centered around the historic town square. Some of the better attended events include the annual Halloween Parade, the Harrison County Fair, summer Friday night band concerts, an annual reenactment of the Battle of Corydon and a long string of country and bluegrass performances. The week-long county fair, held the last week of July at the Harrison County Fairgrounds, is one of the community more popular celebrations, with attendance usually over 3,000 per night. The fair includes 4-H exhibits, a midway, demolition derbies, harness racing, and musical entertainment. The fair, first held in 1860, is the oldest, continuous county fair in the state of Indiana.
In 2008 Corydon began celebrating its bicentennial anniversary with a year of events and the unveiling of a $200,000 bronze statue of the late governor and citizen of Corydon, the Honorable Frank O'Bannon.[10]
Geography
Corydon is located at 38°12′46″N 86°7′31″W / 38.21278°N 86.12528°W (38.212724, -86.125318)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 1.6 sq mi (4.1 km²), all land.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 2,715 people, 1,171 households, and 674 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,708.1 people per square mile (659.3/km²). There were 1,271 housing units at an average density of 799.6/sq mi (308.6/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.
List of historic sites
- Old State Capitol
- Governor Hendricks Headquarters
- Constitution Elm
- First State Office Building
- Coburn-Porter Law Office
- Posey House
- Battle of Corydon Civil War Memorial Park
- The Kintner House Inn
- Branham Tavern
- Westfall House
- Cedar Glade
- Leora Brown School
- Heth House
- Cedar Hill Cemetery
- Flags Over Corydon
- Harrison County Fairgrounds
Famous residents
- James Best, actor, played Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane in the Dukes of Hazzard television series
- Frank O'Bannon, politician, 47th Governor of Indiana
- Arville Funk, author, scholar, preeminent Indiana historian
Notes
- ^ a b c Federal Writers' Project, p. 181
- ^ Three Indiana Capitols
- ^ Indiana History Chapter Three
- ^ IN.gov: General Indiana Facts
- ^ http://historic.shcsc.k12.in.us/FAIR/FAIR.HTM County Fair
- ^ Federal Writers Project, p. 184
- ^ ISBN 0-394-46512-1 The Civil War: A Narrative Volume III By Shelby Foote
- ^ Federal Writers' Project, pp. 181–182
- ^ Devin and Tennyson
- ^ O’Bannon Memorial
Sources
- Federal Writers' Project (1947). Indiana. A Guide to the Hoosier State. US History Publishers. ISBN 160354013X.
See also
External links
- Town of Corydon, Indiana website
- The Corydon Democrat
- Corydon Central High School
- Harrison County Tourism Website
Other information
Municipalities and communities of Harrison County, Indiana, United States | ||
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| Towns |  | |
| Townships | ||
| CDPs | ||
| Other communities | ||
| Ghost town | ||
| Footnotes | ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties | |