Corydon

History

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Harrison built a two-story home in the town, but sold it in 1809. The town gets its name from "The Pastoral Elegy", a hymn that celebrates the death of a shepherd named Corydon. 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". Harrison sold the town site to Harvey Heth in 1807. The first county courthouse was built at the northwest corner of the town at the summit of High Street. 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…

Geography

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 to the north, and the city of Louisville, Kentucky is about to the east. Indian Creek passes through the town; the creek continues to the southwest where it empties into the Ohio River. According to the 2010 census, Corydon has a total area of , all land.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,260
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  4,655
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  4,231
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,871
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  3,434
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,299
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,259
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,254