In downtown Corydon, Indiana, right across from the old State Capitol, is one of the most unique museums in the state – the Harrison County Discovery Center. It may not be a huge museum, but it is undoubtedly one of the best, featuring some of the most creative interactive exhibits.
There’s a gallery about Harrison County outdoors with an exhibit about caves, where you can learn about early Native Americans, the first pioneers when the Confederate cavalry invaded Corydon, and many interactive Civil War exhibits. Did I mention that pictures on the wall talk to each other? Oh yes, they do. This is the Harrison County Discovery Center.
Behind the gift shop, you walk into what looks like a law library, with legal documents lining the wall. If you pull any of them open, they come alive. Look at everything; this place is jumping with interaction. When you walk past pictures, they come alive and talk. As the saying goes, those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.
County curiosities include birth certificates, marriage licenses, death certificates, and last wills and testaments. Inquiry minds need to know. God, are you paying attention over there? Then ourselves, my dear Miss Crawford, I have little time to help research your slanderous tales of fancy. Don’t flip your wig; I’m just looking for real news. I’m tired of writing about chickens and squash.
The great outdoors is a big part of Harrison County; you can learn about them through interactive exhibits. Harrison County has so much to see – the first State Capitol, Civil War history, and two show caves. Squire Boone Caverns, discovered by Daniel Boone’s brother Squire Boone, has the largest travertine dam in the entire world and some unique formations.
Indiana Caverns is part of the Binkley Cave system, the seventh most extended cave system in the United States, with over 40 miles of known passages. It has ice-age animal bones and an underground boat ride everyone loves. Harrison County has over 600 known caves. If visiting a show cave piques your interest, you can join a grotto, get proper training, and visit many wild caves with fellow explorers. The cave exhibit provides an excellent primer on the subject.
You can lead the cave exhibit through a tunnel or walk through it like everyone else.
Researchers tell us that Native Americans have lived in Harrison County for over 12,500 years. Many arrowheads, spear points, and other ancient tools have been found here, especially in Harrison County’s rock shelters and caves. There’s also evidence that these ancient people traded these items as far away as the East Coast. Many are made of a unique type of chert found only in Indiana.
An example is a wigwam, a Native American home built with tree work. The museum tells the story of early pioneers in Indiana Territory. Corydon was, in fact, the capital of Indiana Territory and later the state capital from 1816 to 1825, when it was then moved to Indianapolis.
There’s also a section about Indiana’s part in the Underground Railroad. Indiana citizens opened their homes to runaway slaves, offering them a place to rest during the day until they could move north to freedom in the night. An iron jail door is an entryway to an exhibit about law and order.
Perhaps the most significant event in Harrison County was the invasion of Harrison County by the Confederate cavalry led by General John Hunt Morgan in 1863. Morgan and about 2,000 men made their way across the Ohio River. They had stolen two steamboats; the Alice Dean was the larger of the two. After Morgan’s men made it across, they set the Alice Dean on fire and sank it into the Ohio River. This is a piece of the Alice Dean, and as of 2021, the large boat is still at the bottom of the Ohio River.
There’s a great interactive movie that you walk through that tells the story. There’s also an interactive display where you can learn more about the Civil War. The museum concludes with a summary of Harrison County throughout the years and Corydon’s part in making education available to all people.
The Harrison County Discovery Center is an excellent place to start your Harrison County adventure. It’s a great example of how technology can tell a story for future generations.
