Editing Corydon, Indiana (section)

===Early settlement===
[[File:Map of Corydon, Indiana from 1876 atlas.png|thumb|left|Map of Corydon from 1876 atlas]]

During the [[American Revolution]], [[George Rogers Clark]] captured the surrounding area of what became the town of Corydon from the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]], bringing it under the control of the fledgling United States government.<ref>Griffin, p. 8</ref> 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.<ref name="Griffin, p. 9">Griffin, p. 9</ref> 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.<ref name="Griffin, p. 9"/> The families returned to the area in 1800 following the creation of the Indiana territory.<ref name="Griffin, p. 9"/>

The territorial government completed the land survey of what would become Corydon in 1807, and the first official land purchases occurred in April of that year.<ref name="Griffin, p. 11">Griffin, p. 11</ref> 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.<ref name="Griffin, p. 11"/> He purchased land at the edge of a fertile valley near a large spring, which is the site of the present-day [[Harrison County, Indiana|Harrison County]] fairgrounds.<ref name="Griffin, p. 11"/> [[William Henry Harrison]], the first [[Governor of Indiana|governor]] of the [[Indiana Territory]] and a future president of the United States, often stopped to rest at the Smith's home while travelling to and from [[Vincennes, Indiana|Vincennes]], the territorial capital.<ref name="Griffin, p. 15">Griffin, p. 15</ref>

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.<ref name="Griffin, p. 14">Griffin, p. 14</ref> Harrison built a two-story home in the town, but sold it in 1809.<ref>Griffin, p. 156</ref> The town gets its name from "[[Pastoral Elegy (hymn)|The Pastoral Elegy]]," a [[hymn]] that celebrates the death of a shepherd named Corydon.<ref name="Griffin, p. 14"/><ref name="Taylor-169">{{cite book |author1=Robert M. Taylor Jr. |author2=Errol Wayne Stevens |author3=Mary Ann Ponder |author4=Paul Brockman |title=Indiana: A New Historical Guide |publisher=Indiana Historical Society |year=1992 |location=Indianapolis |page=169 |isbn=0871950499}}</ref> 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."<ref name = fwp181>{{cite book |author=Works Project Administration, Federal Writers' Project |title=Indiana. A Guide to the Hoosier State |year=1947 |publisher=US History Publishers |series=American Guide Series |page=181 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iFZ90Uw3jEC |isbn=1-60354-013-X}}</ref>

Harrison sold the town site to [[Harvey Heth]] in 1807.<ref name="Griffin, p. 14"/><ref name="Taylor-169"/> Corydon's official founding date of 1808 commemorates the year when Heth, a U.S. government surveyor and landowner, platted the town. Heth donated the town square for public use and sold individual lots to settlers and the territorial government.<ref name = fwp181/> When Harrison County was established in 1808, Corydon became its county seat of government.<ref name="Griffin, p. 14"/> The town originally consisted of 185 lots.<ref name="Griffin, p. 15"/> In 1809 Corydon was connected by road to Doup's Ferry, {{convert|15|mi|km}} to the south at [[Mauckport, Indiana|Mauck's Port]], providing access to the [[Ohio River]] for trade.<ref name="Griffin, p. 17">Griffin, p. 17</ref> The first county courthouse was built at the northwest corner of the town at the summit of High Street.<ref name="Griffin, p. 17"/>

Corydon quickly grew into one of the most important early settlements in Indiana, in large part due to the political successes of its early inhabitants and as one of the main stops on the only land route to the territorial capital of Vincennes. During the [[War of 1812]], Corydon sent a mounted militia company nicknamed the [[Yellow Jackets (Indiana)|Yellow Jackets]] to support the territorial army. The company fought in the [[Battle of Tippecanoe]], where it suffered more casualties than any other unit.<ref>Griffin, p. 35</ref>