Harrison County fairgrounds. William Henry Harrison, the first 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, the territorial capital. 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. Harrison built a two-story home in the town, but sold it in 1809. The town gets its name from "The Pastoral Elegy," a hymn that celebrates the death of a shepherd named Corydon. 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." Harrison sold the town site to Harvey Heth in 1807. 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. When Harrison County was established in 1808, Corydon became its county seat of government. The town originally consisted of 185 lots. In 1809 Corydon was connected by road to Doup's Ferry, to the south at Mauck's Port, providing access to the Ohio River for trade. The first county courthouse was built at the northwest corner of the town at the summit of High Street. 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 to support the territorial army. The company fought in the Battle of Tippecanoe, where it suffered more casualties than any other unit. Territorial capital (1813–1816) Corydon became the second capital of the Indiana Territory on May 1, 1813, when it was relocated from Vincennes in Knox County. Opponents of William Henry Harrison, the former territorial governor, wanted to move the capital away from his political stronghold in Knox County. Supporters of the move felt that relocation of the territorial capital to the east would provide a more centralized location for its citizens, especially after its western portion was reorganized to form the Illinois Territory