I visited Corydon—Indiana’s original state capital—for the first time on Friday. It was the capital from the time it became a state in 1816 until Indianapolis was built (specifically for the purpose of being the capital city) in 1825.

This building housed both wings of the state legislature and the Supreme Court:

The Indiana constitution was debated and drafted in part under this elm, because the building was too hot in June. The tree died about a century ago and they preserved its trunk in this monument. All of Indiana’s county courts have a gavel carved from this elm and the original constitution is stored in a box made from its wood:

The Indiana constitution was signed on this desk: