We have been back in our lovely home state of Indiana since the beginning of August. It has been a great couple of months visiting with family and friends, being in familiar areas, and finding new things to explore. A couple weeks ago we took a field trip to the town of Corydon, Indiana. Even though we are often traveling and exploring new areas, we do have a curriculum that we are going through with the kids’ homeschooling so we do have to carve out special days every now and then where we take a full day and do a field trip.
Corydon, Indiana was the first state capital of Indiana and is not only chock-full of historical sites, it is a very charming town to visit. Our first stop on this adventure was the Constitution Elm, where the first constitution for Indiana was created by 43 delegates. Why were they all hanging out under this tree? Because it was really hot in June and in 1816 the shade of this ginormous tree was better than the inside of the stone capital building. Thank you, Lord, for air conditioning! Anyway, the tree is dead now, but the very large stump is still there, with a large stone enclosure around it to protect it from the elements, unwelcome climbers, and graffiti. There are many things to learn about the early days of Corydon, Indiana. This website was super informative: https://townofcorydon.com/town-history/
In fifth grade, we give a special emphasis on Indiana History, and even though we were all visiting Corydon together, extra attention was given to our little 5th grader to make sure she was getting the full Indiana History experience.
After visiting the Elm, we walked around the city square checking out the old stone state capitol building, reading the various historical markers, and taking opportunities for photo opps along the way including an interesting chat with Governor Frank O’Bannon (hehehe). Just off the square is the old Governor’s home and The Old Capitol herb garden. We did not pay for a tour of the buildings, but the herb garden was free to walk through, and (bonus!) there were some very informative gardeners tending to the garden. They patiently answered all of my questions about the plants and told us about the common uses for each one. Apparently, there is a rumor that Lamb’s Ear was used as toilet paper back in the day! (Well, if you have to use a leaf, pick a soft one).
After all that learning we took a lunch break and then drove out to the site of a civil war battle. This battlefield was just outside of the town of Corydon, we read all the information about the battle, and walked around a bit. It wasn’t a big battle, but lives were lost and towns were overrun if even for just a little while. War is scary and I always find myself thankful for the service men and women that are willing to risk their lives for love of country and freedom.
We drove back into town to check out the White House Candy Company because we had heard so many great things about it from some of Matt’s relatives who live in the area. They were right, not only was the White House Candy Company totally adorable and stylish, the chocolates were super yummy. Although we didn’t get any ice cream, I am sure we will be back to give it a try.
We took a short walk down the block and across the street to Zimmerman’s blown glass. This family-owned business is now located in an old Sinclair station. This place was extemely cool. They were not blowing glass when we were there, but they were making batches of glass in their ovens. A friendly employee/artist was very informative and gave us a quick tour/science/history lesson.
We thoroughly enjoyed exploring the town of Corydon – history, science, art, and candy! Something else brings us back to this area periodically. Matt’s family, the Eckarts, are from this part of the state, and many of his relatives, including Matt’s mom who died of cancer in 2005, are buried in a cemetary close to Corydon. After exploring the town, we drove out to the cemetary and remembered. Matt was blessed with a Godly heritage and it is a good thing when we can pause and remember these special people.
The surrounding countryside of Corydon is beautiful, and if you enjoy hilly, windy roads, it makes for some fun adventures. Just past the cemetary is a really cool road that drives right through a creek. We always try to make a point to go this way and stop the car right in the middle so we can all get out and walk around. It was a fun way to end our field trip.
Thank you for reading along. I hope you are all having great adventures!
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