The Old Capitol Tea Room 3.74

The Old Capitol Tea Room is located on the first floor of one of Corydon's grand historic homes, just a block from the downtown square and within a few hundred feet of the historic Constitutional Elm. The home sits on the site of the 1st Harrison County Courthouse, which was later used jointly as the Indiana territorial capitol building. It was referred to as the "Courthouse on the Hill" and it was here that the Indiana Constitution was first conceived in 1816 and then walked down to the shade of the historic elm tree to be signed in the summer of 1816.
The buildings on the property and the site were then deeded to Dennis Pennington, a lauded founding father of Indiana's statehood, in late 1816 as partial payment for his work on the construction of the "Stone Courthouse" which still sits on the east side of the Corydon town square.

Pennington sold the property in 1817 to local merchants, Wilson & Bayless. In 1947 the property was sold again to the Jordan family.

The property remained in the Jordan family for over 60 years. Victor Bulleit bought the property in 1911 for $3,000. Bulleit then sold the property to William Huff five years later, and the current 2 2/12 story home with the red-tile roof was constructed in 1916.

Over the last 100 years the property has changed hands several times with various owners and updates to the property. The home was completely renovated between 2006 and 2010 by David & Linda Toupin. Linda then sold the home to Jeff & Carrie Ketterman in 2013, a home that Jeff has long admired as a life-long Harrison County resident. Jeff is also a descendent of Dennis Pennington through his late grandmother, June (Davis) Flock. So, the home has now come full circle, and he and Carrie couldn't be more delighted with their beautiful, century-old, historic home.

The Old Capitol Tea Room has limited seating therefore reservations are strongly recommended. The Tea Room is open most Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11-4 pm and is also available for special occasions, events, private parties, and birthday parties for parties of 10 or more. Weekly hours will be posted in advance. Always check this page for specific hours.