THINGS TO DO

The square, Federal-style capitol building, built between 1814 and 1816, is located in the heart of downtown Corydon. Workers hauled limestone from nearby quarries to erect the 40-foot square walls, and logs were cut from virgin forests for the ceiling and roof supports. After the government moved to Indianapolis, the building was used as the Harrison County Courthouse. When the present courthouse was completed in 1929, the old capitol building was restored and opened as a state memorial in 1930.

The Governor’s Headquarters, a brick home built in 1817, was the home and office to William Hendricks, Indiana’s second elected governor from 1822 to 1825. The building is one of nine original buildings from the time Corydon served as the state capital. The other buildings are the First State Office Building, Cedar Glade, Posey House, Westfall House, Branham Tavern, Adams-Payne House and Harvey Heth House.

Judge William Porter helped defend Corydon when the Confederate soldiers under General John Hunt Morgan took control of the town. While Porter was too old to serve in the Union Army, he was a supporter of the North during the Civil War and chose to fight alongside the Harrison County Home Guard. Judge Porter and his descendants lived in the Governor’s Headquarters from 1841 to 1975.

Davis Floyd, a local politician, built the First State Office building in 1817. The brick portion on the left side of the picture is the original building. This building served as the headquarters for the state auditor and treasurer. There was once a vault in the cellar that held the state’s money that was accessible through a trapdoor that has since been covered.