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Official Website
History
The area became part of the United States following its conquest during the American Revolutionary War. Veterans of the revolution received land grants in the eastern part of the county as part of Clark's Grant. Daniel Boone and his brother Squire Boone were early explorers of the county, entering from Kentucky in the 1780s. Harvey Heth, Spier Spencer, and Edward Smith were among the first to settle in the county beginning in the 1790s. Smith built the first home in the area of Corydon.
The county was named for William Henry Harrison, the first governor of Indiana Territory, a General in War of 1812, hero of Tippecanoe, and the 9th U.S. President. Harrison was the largest land holder in the county at the time and had a small estate at Harrison Spring.
Squire Boone settled in what is now Boone Township in 1806. He died in 1815 and is buried in a cave near his home, Squire Boone Caverns. James, Isaiah, and Daniel (son of Squire) Boone settled in Harrison County's Heth Township during the first decade of the 1800s. The county's first church was built by Boone east of present-day Laconia. The church, which has been reconstructed, is known as Old Goshen.
Dennis Pennington, who lived near Lanesville, became one of the county's early leading citizens and speaker of the territory's legislature.[17] Corydon began competing with other southern Indiana settlements to become the new capital of the territory after its reorganization in 1809. Hostilities broke out in 1811 with the Native American tribes on the frontier, and the territorial capital was moved to Corydon on May 1, 1813, after Pennington suggested that it would be safer than Vincennes. For the next twelve years, Corydon was the political center of the territory and subsequent state. A state constitution was drafted in Corydon during June 1816 and after statehood (December 1816) the town served as the state capital until 1825.
The northern part of the county is known as the barrens, named by the early settlers for its scarce timber. At first, settlers preferred the southern areas where wood was available. The barrens were swept by annual wildfires that prevented the growth of trees. The largest barren ran from the northern edge of Corydon northward to Palmyra, and from the Floyd Knobs in the east, westward to the Blue River. The Central Barren covered most of the upper middle part of the county. As settlement expanded and farming grew in the early 19th century, settlers found the barrens to be fertile farmland, and they were quickly settled. As settlement increased, the wildfires were stopped and by the start of the 20th century the uninhabited parts of the barrens had become forested and have remained so until modern times.
A large meteorite fell near Buena Vista on March 28, 1859. The impact site and a part of the meteorite have been preserved.
The only Civil War battle fought in Indiana occurred in Harrison County on July 9, 1863, between the Harrison County Legion and a Confederate group under Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan, during Morgan's Raid. Morgan crossed the Ohio River into Harrison County in the early hours of daylight, resisted by artillery fire from the Indiana shore and an armed river boat. Confederate artillery returned fire from the opposite shore, and the Legion retreated towards Corydon. The citizens of Mauckport fled the town carrying their valuables. Morgan landed on the east side of Mauckport with two thousand cavalry and marched north burning homes, farms, and mills. The county militia made a stand to block his advance on the county seat and the resulting conflict is known as the Battle of Corydon. The battle was won by the Confederates and the town of Corydon was then sacked and stores were looted and ransomed. The battle left 4 dead, 12 wounded, and 355 captured. After the battle, Morgan continued into northern Harrison County where he looted the New Salisbury area with the main body of troops. Crandall and Palmyra were robbed and sacked by detachments. His forces left the county the following day; they were eventually defeated and captured by Union Army forces.
Adjacent Counties
- Floyd County
- Jefferson County, Kentucky
- Washington County
- Hardin County, Kentucky
- Meade County, Kentucky
- Crawford County
Towns
- Corydon (County Seat)
- Crandall
- Elizabeth
- Laconia
- Lanesville
- Mauckport
- Milltown
- New Amsterdam
- New Middletown
- Palmyra
Other Townships & Communities: Blue River, Boone, Bradford, Breckenridge, Bridgeport, Buena Vista, Byrneville, Central, Central Barren, Corydon Junction, Davidson, Depauw, Dixie, Dogwood, Evans Landing, Fairdale, Fishtown, Franklin, Frenchtown, Glidas, Hancock Chapel, Harrison, Heth, Jackson, Macedonia, Moberly, Morgan, Mott, New Boston, New Salisbury, Posey, Ramsey, Rosewood, Spencer, Sugar Grove, Taylor, Titus, Tobacco Landing, Valley City, Washington, Webster and White Cloud
Links
National Register of Historic Places
The Frederick Porter Griffin Center for Local History & Genealogy
Historical Society of Harrison County
