In a residential neighborhood in the town of Corydon, Indiana is an old tree trunk protected by a stone monument. It looks rather strange, but if you know the importance of the old tree, it makes perfect sense. In 1816, President James Madison signed into law a bill that created the state of Indiana. Delegates met in Corydon to write the state’s first Constitution. Corydon was chosen as the first capital because it was centrally located to most of the state’s population at the time. As they began work on the new document in June, the building they were working in became unbearably hot. The group decided to move outside and work under the branches of a large elm tree.
The Constitutional Convention lasted 19 days. On the last day, June 29, 1816, the state constitution was adopted by a majority vote. It included several progressive laws, like a ban on slavery and the first mandate for funding public schools in the country. The Constitutional Elm became a symbol of Indiana’s statehood, and the tree has been honored by Hoosiers over the years. In the 1920s, the historic tree was ravaged by Dutch Elm disease. Efforts were made to try and save it, but eventually they failed. To preserve what they could for future generations, the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution had the branches cut off and sold pieces for souvenirs. A stone monument was built around the remaining trunk. Over the years, several attempts have been made to preserve it from dry rot and decay. In the early days, it was covered with coal tar. More recently, since 2016, the Indiana State Museum has been working to preserve the historic tree or at least what remains of it.
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