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A+History
History · Corydon

Corydon dates to 1808, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns · #46 of 593 in Indiana. What drives it

3 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 468 buildings. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1894 on, and the census since 1850.

1808founded
3on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
6famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Corydon’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Corydon began

When was Corydon founded?

1808

Corydon dates its founding to 1808 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1850.

First census: 462 in 18502020 census: 3,153218 years

How historic is Corydon?

A+

More historic than 96% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1811.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Corydon’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Corydon is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #46 of 593 in Indiana. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its age lowest.

A+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Corydon’s overall grade.
Founding era1808, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194028.1% of homes (±11.6) · typical IN town 14.4% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register3 listings, 470 historic buildings, 1,489 per 10,000 residents · typical IN town 7.9 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 96%
NewerOlder
Indiana towns of 2,500+ (593)Ahead of 92%

Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Corydon’s 1,489 sits above most of its state (100% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 470 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±11.6 points). Two sources give 1808.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Corydon’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe Corydon Historic District takes in 468 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Mapped building by building3 fire insurance maps, 1894 to 1910, drew every building in Corydon.Deep rootsEstablished in 1808: 218 years of Corydon.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

3 listings protect 470 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
470
each building in a district counts
first listed
1973
Corydon Historic District
Corydon Historic DistrictKintner-McGrain HouseKintner House Hotel
BuildingsDistricts

Architectural styles listings

Italianate2
Federal1
Queen Anne1
Corydon Historic DistrictFederal
Kintner-McGrain HouseBuilding
Kintner House HotelItalianate

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Corydon’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Corydon’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewCorydon Democrat headline, July 4 1862: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Every building

Corydon, building by building, 1894–1910

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Corydon fire insurance map, 1894, sheet 11894Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Corydon came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Corydon.

Read it all →

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. The families returned to the area in 1800 following the creation of the Indiana territory.

ChaptersEarly settlementTerritorial capital (1813–1816)Constitutional convention, 1816State capital (1816–1825)Post-capital periodBattle of Corydon (1863)Post-Civil War Period

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Corydon in 1916

Passages that mention Corydon, cut from the printed page as they were published.

1 SAGE Daye This house, which was built in 1807, was the first house built on the town site of Corydon. in the shade of Constitutional Elm. It is also the old home of Julia Fried Walker. \
Old Capital centennial souvenir1916Read the page →
Read the text

1 SAGE Daye This house, which was built in 1807, was the first house built on the town site of Corydon. in the shade of Constitutional Elm. It is also the old home of Julia Fried Walker. \

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Corydon, 1808 to 1931

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1808
    FoundingCorydon is established
  3. 1811Post officeThe Corydon post office opens
  4. 1824Born hereCatharine Merrill is born here
  5. 1842Born hereWilliam Theopilus Jones is born here
  6. 1846Born hereWilliam T. Zenor is born here
  7. 1863In the archiveCorydon Democrat headline, July 4 1862
  8. 1883Born hereClarence Self Ridley is born here
  9. 1889In the archiveCorydon in old west bridage
  10. 1896In the archiveCorydon in 1896
  11. 20th century
  12. 1931On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Corydon, decade by decade

3 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1890s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1890s3 items
Corydon Democrat headline, July 4 18621863Corydon Democrat headline, July 4 1862Corydon in old west bridage1889Corydon in old west bridageCorydon in 18961896Corydon in 1896
1900s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown1 to date
Corydon tippacanoe memorial1Date?Corydon tippacanoe memorial1
Today20 recent
Indiana Capitol historical marker2016Indiana Capitol historical markerButt Drugs Merchandise2016Butt Drugs MerchandiseButt Drugs Health Mart2016Butt Drugs Health MartButt Drugs - Salicylic acid2016Butt Drugs - Salicylic acidButt Drugs (Store Front)2016Butt Drugs (Store Front)Battle of Corydon July 9, 1863 historical marker2016Battle of Corydon July 9, 1863 historical markerShelliYoder2013ShelliYoderShelliYoder (3x4a)2013ShelliYoder (3x4a)Corydon - hillside2012Corydon - hillside3peccaryuperjaw??20123peccaryuperjaw??2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookUS-IN - Corydon - North America - Road Trip - The South - Kentucky - Tank2009US-IN - Corydon - North America - Road Trip - The Sou…Hayswood Nature Reserve dedication marker2009Hayswood Nature Reserve dedication markerDowntown Corydon Indiana viewed from the Pilot Knob in the Hayswood Nature Reserve2009Downtown Corydon Indiana viewed from the Pilot Knob i…A horse tied to a 10 minute parking sign at the battle of Corydon reenactment2009A horse tied to a 10 minute parking sign at the battl…Corydon, Indiana2008Corydon, IndianaCorydon Battlefield entrance2007Corydon Battlefield entranceCorydon Battlefield cabin2007Corydon Battlefield cabinCedar Glade 12007Cedar Glade 1Battle of corydon marker2007Battle of corydon marker
On the map

Corydon on the map, 1931 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Corydon. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Corydon on the 1931 USGS mapCorydon on the 1948 USGS mapCorydon on the 1950 USGS mapCorydon on the 1966 USGS mapCorydon on the 1980 USGS map1931Corydon sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Corydon.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Corydon Democrat headline, July 4 1862
Retake this viewCorydon Democrat headline, July 4 1862, 1863

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Corydon’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Corydon, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,50018501900195020003,153

Grew from 462 people in 1850 to 3,153 in 2020, 6 times over.

17 censuses, 1850–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Corydon’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

6 famous people were born in Corydon

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Clarence Self RidleyAmerican politician · b. 1883
William T. ZenorIndianan politician · b. 1846
William Theopilus JonesAmerican politician · b. 1842
Catharine MerrillAmerican Civil War nurse and professor · b. 1824
S
Samuel P. HaysAmerican historian · b. 1921
Foster LaHueU.S. Marine Corps Lieutenant General · b. 1918
Places that used to be

Old corners and burying grounds

Corydon’s post office has been open since 1811.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Hillcrest
1cemetery inside Corydon
Cedar Hill

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Corydon’s history

What year was Corydon founded?

In 1808, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Corydon’s post office opened in 1811, and the census of 1850 counted 462 people here.

How does Corydon rank for history?

Corydon is more historic than 96% of U.S. towns, #46 of 593 in Indiana. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Corydon?

Three places: the Corydon Historic District (listed 1973), the Kintner-McGrain House (1983) and the Kintner House Hotel (1987).

How old are the homes in Corydon?

28% of Corydon’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.6 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1979.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (24), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.