Corydon

The small town of Corydon with a population of about 2,780 was Indiana's governmental seat from 1816 to 1825 before the capital was moved to the more central location of Indianapolis. Corydon still has a wealth of historic sites from that past. Founded in 1808 by General William Henry Harrison (who later became the ninth President of the United States), Corydon was named after one of Harrison's favorite songs, "The Pastoral Elegy," which laments the death of a young shepherd boy named Corydon. Harrison decided that the place where the Big Indian Creek and Little Indian Creek met was a great spot for a town. Indiana delegates met under the ...

The small town of Corydon with a population of about 2,780 was Indiana's governmental seat from 1816 to 1825 before the capital was moved to the more central location of Indianapolis. Corydon still has a wealth of historic sites from that past. Founded in 1808 by General William Henry Harrison (who later became the ninth President of the United States), Corydon was named after one of Harrison's favorite songs, "The Pastoral Elegy," which laments the death of a young shepherd boy named Corydon. Harrison decided that the place where the Big Indian Creek and Little Indian Creek met was a great spot for a town. Indiana delegates met under the spreading branches of one of the world’s largest elm trees of its kind to draft Indiana's first state constitution. Spreading 126 feet from branch to branch, the tree became known as Constitution Elm Tree. The tree died of Dutch elm disease in 1924 but the stump was preserved and a brick shrine was built over it. Corydon is also the site of the only Civil War battle fought on Indiana soil.

About the Expert

Jackie Sheckler Finch has written several guidebooks, including The Unofficial Guide to Campgrounds in the Great Lakes States, and four times she was named Travel Writer of the Year by Midwest Travel Writers Association.