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Washington, D.C. has been the federal capital city of the United States since 1802. Each U.S. state has its own capital city, as do many of its insular areas. Historically, most states have not changed their capital city since becoming a state, but the capital cities of their respective preceding colonies, territories, kingdoms, and republics typically changed multiple times. There have also been other governments within the current borders of the United States with their own capitals, such as the Republic of Texas, Native American nations, and other unrecognized governments.

Capitals of the United States

• The Albany Conference (June 18–July 11, 1754), or "The Conference of Albany", was the first meeting at which representatives of British colonies in North America (seven of them) gathered to discuss questions of common interest. It met in the Stadt Huys, the City Hall of Albany, New York (demolished after a fire in 1836). The original purpose of the Conference was to coordinate relations with the Indians and common defensive measures against the French threat from Canada (see French and Indian War#Albany Conference). At that meeting the major topic of discussion, however, was the Albany Plan, presented by Benjamin Franklin, delegate from Pennsylvania, setting up a unified (though not independent) government for the colonies. Although the delegates approved the plan (after modifications) unanimously, it was not approved by any of the territorial governments, or by the British government. It was used later in the drafting of the Articles of Confederation.


• The Stamp Act Congress (October 7–25, 1765), or First Congress of the American Colonies, met in City Hall, later named Federal Hall, in New York City. Demolished in 1812.


• The Continental Congress, later called the First Continental Congress (September 5–October 26, 1774), embryo of what would become the United States government, met in Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, today (2018) part of Independence National Historical Park. Delegate Joseph Galloway presented the Galloway Plan for a unified government, incorporating some elements of the Albany Plan, but it was not accepted.


• The Second Continental Congress (1775–1781), in which the U.S. Declaration of Independence was debated and signed, and which starting in 1775 coordinated the American Revolutionary War, met primarily in the Pennsylvania State House, today Independence Hall, in Independence National Historic Park. The room as it was then is accurately depicted in the famous painting Declaration of Independence by John Trumbull, commissioned by Congress, which has hung in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda since 1825. The Articles of Confederation, though drafted in York, Pennsylvania, were adopted in Philadelphia in 1777, subject to the states' approval. The Second Continental Congress also met briefly in the following locations:
  
  • 
    Henry Fite House, Baltimore, Maryland: December 20, 1776, to February 27, 1777, to avoid capture by British forces. The building was destroyed by fire in 1904.
  
  
  • Court House, Lancaster, Pennsylvania: September 27, 1777 (one day)
  
  
  • Court House, York, Pennsylvania: September 30, 1777, to June 2, 1778
  
  
  • College Hall, College of Philadelphia: July 2, 1778, to July 20, 1778^[1]
  
  


• The Congress of the Confederation (1781–1789) did not have an official capitol. It met in the following locations:
  
  • Independence Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 1, 1781, to June 21, 1783 (In 1783, Congress moved from Philadelphia after a soldiers' riot. See Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783.)
  
  
  • 
    Nassau Hall, Princeton, New Jersey: June 30, 1783, to November 4, 1783
  
  
  • 
    Maryland State House, Annapolis, Maryland: November 26, 1783, to August 19, 1784
  
  
  • 
    French Arms Tavern, Trenton, New Jersey: November 1, 1784, to December 24, 1784
  
  
  • 
    Federal Hall, New York City, New York: January 11, 1785, to October 2, 1788^[2] Demolished in 1812.
  
  
  • 
    Fraunces Tavern, New York City, New York: October 6, 1788, to March 3, 1789^[3]
  
  


• The United States Constitution addressed (Article 1, section 8, clause 17) the need for a fixed U.S. Capitol. This led to the establishment of the District of Columbia and the founding of Washington as the nation's capital. Until the Capitol building was completed, and after it was burned by the British in 1814, requiring its rebuilding, Congress met in various places:
  
  • 
    Federal Hall, New York City, New York: March 4, 1789, to December 5, 1790. This is where George Washington was inaugurated as first President. Demolished in 1812.
  
  
  • 
    Congress Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, next to the Pennsylvania State House (Independence Hall) and also part of Independence National Historic Park: December 6, 1790, to May 14, 1800. Built for the purpose of being the U.S. capitol. This is pursuant to the Residence Act of 1790, which designated Philadelphia as U.S. Capital for 10 years.
  
  
  • 
    United States Capitol. Territory of Columbia: November 17, 1800, to February 27, 1801; District of Columbia: February 27, 1801, to May 2, 1802; Washington, D.C.: May 3, 1802, to August 24, 1814, when the British burned it.
  
  
  • (President James Madison fled to the home of Quaker Caleb Bentley, in Brookeville, Maryland, where he stayed one night: August 26, 1814. The town claims to have been the "U.S. Capital for a Day" although Congress never met there.^[4])
  
  
  • Blodgett's Hotel (one of the few surviving buildings large enough to hold all members): September 19, 1814 – December 7, 1815^[5]
  
  
  • 
    Old Brick Capitol, Washington, D.C.: December 8, 1815, to 1819 (while the original Capitol was being rebuilt). Although the name says "old", the cornerstone was laid July 4, 1815. It was financed by Washington real-estate investors who heard rumors that some members of Congress were considering moving the national capital in the aftermath of the burning. Demolished in 1929.
  
  
  • United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.: 1819 to present
  
  

State capitals

The dates listed in the following table indicate the year in which the city started to continuously serve as the state's sole capital. Most states have changed their capital city at least once. In the case of the thirteen original states, "statehood" in the table refers to date of ratification of the United States Constitution.

State capitals of the United States

State	Abr.	State-hood	Capital	Capital since	Area (mi²)	Population (2010)				Notes
						Municipal (Within city proper boundaries)	Metropolitan (Both within the capital city proper and the surrounding area of the city proper)	Rank in state	Rank in US
Alabama	AL	1819	Montgomery	1846	155.4	205,764	374,536	2	102	Birmingham is the state's largest city.
Alaska	AK	1959	Juneau	1906	2716.7	31,275		3		Largest capital by municipal land area.
Arizona	AZ	1912	Phoenix	1889	474.9	1,445,632	4,192,887	1	6	Phoenix is the most populous capital city in the United States of America.
Arkansas	AR	1836	Little Rock	1821	116.2	193,524	699,757	1	117
California	CA	1850	Sacramento	1854	97.2	466,488	2,149,127	6	35
Colorado	CO	1876	Denver	1867	153.4	600,158	2,543,482	1	26	Denver was called Denver City until 1882.
Connecticut	CT	1788	Hartford	1875	17.3	124,775	1,212,381	3	199
Delaware	DE	1787	Dover	1777	22.4	36,047	162,310	2		Longest-serving capital in terms of statehood.
Florida	FL	1845	Tallahassee	1824	95.7	181,376	367,413	7	125
Georgia	GA	1788	Atlanta	1868	131.7	420,003	5,286,728	1	40	Most populous metro area of any state capital.
Hawaii	HI	1959	Honolulu	1845	85.7	337,256	953,207	1	53
Idaho	ID	1890	Boise	1865	63.8	205,671	616,561	1	103
Illinois	IL	1818	Springfield	1837	54.0	116,250	210,170	6	221	Springfield was once home to Abraham Lincoln.
Indiana	IN	1816	Indianapolis	1825	361.5	820,445	1,887,877	1	16
Iowa	IA	1846	Des Moines	1857	75.8	203,433	569,633	1	105
Kansas	KS	1861	Topeka	1856	56.0	127,473	230,870	4	193
Kentucky	KY	1792	Frankfort	1792	14.7	25,527	70,758	14
Louisiana	LA	1812	Baton Rouge	1880	76.8	229,493	802,484	2	85	Baton Rouge is located in the state's most populous parish. It is also home to the tallest state capitol building.
Maine	ME	1820	Augusta	1832	55.4	19,136	117,114	8		Portland is a previous capital.
Maryland	MD	1788	Annapolis	1694	6.73	38,394		7		Smallest capital by land area. Capitol building is the oldest in the U.S. still in use.
Massachusetts	MA	1788	Boston	1630	48.4	617,594	4,552,402	1	22	Longest continuously serving capital in the U.S.
Michigan	MI	1837	Lansing	1847	35.0	114,297	464,036	5	226	Only state capital that is not also its county seat (not counting the two state capitals that are independent cities and not located in any county).
Minnesota	MN	1858	Saint Paul	1849	52.8	285,068	3,348,659	2	67
Mississippi	MS	1817	Jackson	1821	104.9	173,514	567,122	1	134	Only state capital that shares its status as county seat with another city (Raymond, Mississippi).
Missouri	MO	1821	Jefferson City	1826	27.3	43,079	149,807	15
Montana	MT	1889	Helena	1875	14.0	28,190	74,801	6
Nebraska	NE	1867	Lincoln	1867	74.6	258,379	302,157	2	72
Nevada	NV	1864	Carson City	1861	143.4	55,274		6		One of two independent cities that serves as a state capital.
New Hampshire	NH	1788	Concord	1808	64.3	42,695		3
New Jersey	NJ	1787	Trenton	1784	7.66	84,913	366,513	10		Served as the U.S. capital for a short period in the late 18th century.
New Mexico	NM	1912	Santa Fe	1610	37.3	75,764	183,732	4		Longest serving capital in the United States. Highest elevation of any state capital.
New York	NY	1788	Albany	1797	21.4	97,856	857,592	6
North Carolina	NC	1789	Raleigh	1792	114.6	403,892	1,130,490	2	43
North Dakota	ND	1889	Bismarck	1883	26.9	61,272	108,779	2
Ohio	OH	1803	Columbus	1816	210.3	879,170	2,078,725	1	14	Columbus is the largest city in Ohio, the second largest city in the Midwest, and the second largest state capital in the United States.
Oklahoma	OK	1907	Oklahoma City	1910	607.0	579,999	1,252,987	1	31	Shortest serving current state capital.
Oregon	OR	1859	Salem	1855	45.7	154,637	390,738	3	149
Pennsylvania	PA	1787	Harrisburg	1812	8.11	49,528	647,390	9
Rhode Island	RI	1790	Providence	1900	18.5	178,042	1,600,852	1	130	Also served as the state's capital 1636–1686 and 1689–1776. It was one of five co-capitals 1776–1853, and one of two co-capitals 1853–1900.
South Carolina	SC	1788	Columbia	1786	125.2	129,272	767,598	2	191
South Dakota	SD	1889	Pierre	1889	13.0	13,646		8
Tennessee	TN	1796	Nashville	1826	473.3	601,222	1,670,890	1	25
Texas	TX	1845	Austin	1839	251.5	790,390	1,716,291	4	11	Austin is the largest state capital that is not also the state's largest city by population.
Utah	UT	1896	Salt Lake City	1858	109.1	186,440	1,087,873	1	124
Vermont	VT	1791	Montpelier	1805	10.2	7,855		6		Least populous U.S. state capital.
Virginia	VA	1788	Richmond	1780	60.1	204,214	1,208,101	4	104	Richmond is one of two independent cities that serves as a state capital.
Washington	WA	1889	Olympia	1853	16.7	46,478	234,670	24
West Virginia	WV	1863	Charleston	1885	31.6	51,400	304,214	1		Charleston is the smallest capital city that is still the most populous city in its state.
Wisconsin	WI	1848	Madison	1838	68.7	233,209	605,435	2	82
Wyoming	WY	1890	Cheyenne	1869	21.1	59,466	91,738	1

Insular area capitals

An insular area is a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Those insular areas with territorial capitals are listed below.

Capitals of United States Insular Areas

Insular area	Abr.	Date	Capital	Population (2010)	Notes
American Samoa	AS	1899	Pago Pago	3,656	Pago Pago refers to both a village and a group of villages, one of the group is Fagatogo the official seat of government stated in the territory's constitution since 1967.
Guam	GU	1898	Hagåtña	1,051	Dededo is the area's largest village.
Northern Mariana Islands	MP	1947	Saipan	48,220
Puerto Rico	PR	1898	San Juan	395,326	The city of San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico while the island was called San Juan Bautista.
U.S. Virgin Islands	VI	1917	Charlotte Amalie	18,481

Former colonial, territorial, and state capitals

For the purposes of this list, the place the government met, or governing authorities resided, is given as a capital. Many of these "capitals" were never formally designated as such.

• Alabama: St. Stephens (1817–1819), Cahaba (1820–1825) (territorial; both ghost towns)


• Alaska: Sitka (1867–1906) (District of Alaska)


• Arizona: Mesilla (Confederate Arizona, today in New Mexico, 1861–1862; District of Arizona, 1862–1864), Fort Whipple (Army post, 1863–1864), Prescott (1864–1867), Tucson (1867–1877); Prescott (1877–1889) (territorial)


• Arkansas: Arkansas Post (1819–1821) (territorial)


• California: Monterey (1849), San Jose (1849–1851), Vallejo (1851–1853), Benicia (1853–1854)


• Connecticut: New Haven
  


• Delaware: New Castle (colonial), Wilmington, Lewes, New Castle
  


• Florida: St. Augustine (1565–1824)


• Georgia: Savannah (colonial), Augusta (1780–1796), Louisville (1796–1806), Milledgeville (1804–1868) [While Milledgeville was declared capital in December, 1804, until facilities were built in Milledgeville the government remained in Louisville.]


• Hawaii: see below
  


• Idaho: Lewiston (territorial)
  


• Illinois: Kaskaskia, Vandalia
  


• Indiana: Vincennes (territorial) (1798–1813), Corydon (1813–1816)


• Iowa: Des Moines
  


• Kansas: Lecompton
  


• Louisiana: Mobile (French colonial), Biloxi, New Orleans (French colonial), St. Francisville (West Florida), Donaldsonville, Opelousas, Shreveport
  


• Maine: Portland
  


• Michigan: Detroit
  


• Mississippi: Washington
  


• Missouri: St. Louis (Louisiana territory), St. Charles
  


• Montana: Bannack, Virginia City (territorial)
  


• Nebraska: Omaha (territorial) (1854–1867)


• New Jersey: Perth Amboy (colonial), Elizabethtown (territorial)
  


• New York: Kingston (1777), Hurley (1777), Poughkeepsie (?), New York City (?–1797)


• North Carolina: Charleston (Carolina province), Edenton (colonial), New Bern, Fayetteville
  


• North Dakota: Yankton (Dakota territory)
  


• Ohio: Chillicothe, Zanesville, Chillicothe
  


• Oklahoma: Guthrie
  


• Oregon: Oregon City (territorial)


• Pennsylvania: Philadelphia, Lancaster
  


• Rhode Island: Newport
  


• South Carolina: Charleston (1670–1788)


• South Dakota: Yankton, Bismarck (Dakota territory)
  


• Texas: see below
  


• Utah: Fillmore (territorial) (1851–1856)


• Vermont: Windsor (1777–1805)


• Virginia: Jamestown (colonial), Williamsburg
  


• West Virginia: Wheeling
  


• Wisconsin: Belmont
  

Former national capitals

Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii

Prior to becoming a territory of the United States in 1898, Hawaii was an independent country. Five sites served as its capital:

• 
  Waikīkī. Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1795–1796


• 
  Hilo. Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1796–1803


• 
  Kailua-Kona. Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1812–1820


• 
  Lahaina. Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1820–1845.


• 
  Honolulu
  
  • Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1803–1812.
  
  
  • Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1845–January 17, 1893.
  
  
  • Served as the seat of the Provisional Government of Hawaii after the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii, January 17, 1893 – July 4, 1894.
  
  
  • Served as the capital of the Republic of Hawaii when it was established on July 4, 1894 until the Republic was annexed by the United States on July 7, 1898 under the Newlands Resolution to become the Territory of Hawaii. On becoming a state in 1959, Honolulu became the capital of the State of Hawaii.
  
  

Republic of Texas

Before joining the United States under the Texas Annexation in 1845, Texas was an independent nation known as the Republic of Texas. Seven cities served as its capital:

• 
  Washington (now Washington-on-the-Brazos), 1836


• 
  Harrisburg (now part of Houston), 1836


• 
  Galveston, 1836


• 
  Velasco, 1836


• 
  West Columbia, 1836


• 
  Houston, 1837–1839


• 
  Austin, 1839–1845 (also present-day capital of the State of Texas)

Native American capitals

Some Native American tribes, in particular the Five Civilized Tribes, organized their states with constitutions and capitals in Western style. Others, like the Iroquois, had long-standing, pre-Columbian traditions of a 'capitol' longhouse where wampum and council fires were maintained with special status. Since they did business with the U.S. Federal Government, these capitals can be seen as officially recognized in some sense.

Cherokee Nation

• 
  New Echota 1825–1832

New Echota, now near Calhoun, Georgia was founded in 1825, realizing the dream and plans of Cherokee Chief Major Ridge. Major Ridge chose the site because of its centrality in the historic Cherokee Nation which spanned parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, and because it was near the confluence of the Conasauga and Coosawattee rivers. The town's layout was partly inspired by Ridge's many visits to Washington D.C. and to Baltimore, but also invoked traditional themes of the Southeastern ceremonial complex. Complete with the Council House, Supreme Court, Cherokee syllabary printing press, and the houses of several of the Nation's constitutional officers, New Echota served as the capital until 1832 when the state of Georgia outlawed Native American assembly in an attempt to undermine the Nation. Thousands of Cherokee would gather in New Echota for the annual National Councils, camping along the nearby rivers and holding long stomp dances in the park-like woods that were typical of many Southeastern Native American settlements.^[6]

• 
  Red Clay 1832–1838

The Cherokee National council grounds were moved to Red Clay, Tennessee on the Georgia state line in order to evade the Georgia state militia. The log cabins, limestone springs and park-like woods of Red Clay served as the capital until the Cherokee Nation was removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma) on the Trail of Tears.^[6]

• 
  Tahlequah 1839–1907, 1938–present

Tahlequah, in present-day Oklahoma, served as the capital of the original Cherokee Nation after Removal. After the Civil War, a turbulent period for the Nation which was involved in its own civil war resulting from pervasive anger and disagreements over removal from Georgia, the Cherokee Nation built a new National Capitol in Tahlequah out of brick. The building served as the capitol until 1907, when the Dawes Act finally dissolved the Cherokee Nation and Tahlequah became the county seat of Cherokee County, Oklahoma. The Cherokee National government was re-established in 1938 and Tahlequah remains the capital of the modern Cherokee Nation; it is also the capital of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians.

• 
  Cherokee 20th century–present (Eastern Band of Cherokee)

Approximately four to eight hundred Cherokees escaped removal because they lived on a separated tract, purchased later with the help of Confederate Colonel William Holland Thomas, along the Oconaluftee river deep in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. Some Cherokees fleeing the Federal Army sent for the "round up," fled to the remote settlements separated from the rest of the Cherokee Territory in Georgia and North Carolina in order to remain in their homeland.^[7] In the 20th century, their descendants organized as the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; its capital is at Cherokee, North Carolina, in the tribally-controlled Qualla Boundary.

Muscogee Creek Nation

• Hot Springs, Arkansas c. 1837–1866

After Removal from their Alabama-Georgia homeland, the Creek national government met near Hot Springs which was then part of their new territory as prescribed in the Treaty of Cusseta. However, the Union forced the Creeks to cede over three million acres (half of their land) of what is now Arkansas, after some Creeks fought with the Confederacy in the American Civil War.^[8]

• 
  Okmulgee 1867–1906

Served as the National capital after the American Civil War. It was probably named after Ocmulgee, on the Ocmulgee river in Macon, a principle Coosa and later Creek town built with mounds and functioning as part of the Southeastern ceremonial complex. However, there were other traditional Creek "mother-towns" before removal. The Ocmulgee mounds were ceded illegally in 1821 with the Treaty of Indian Springs.

Iroquois Confederacy

• 
  Onondaga (Onondaga privilege c. 1450–present)

The Iroquois Confederacy or Haudenosaunee, which means "People of the Longhouse," was an alliance between the Five and later Six-Nations of Iroquoian language and culture of upstate New York.^[9] These include the Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, and, after 1722, the Tuscarora Nations. Since the Confederacy's formation around 1450, the Onondaga Nation has held privilege of hosting the Iroquois Grand Council and the status of Keepers of the Fire and the Wampum —which they still do at the official Longhouse on the Onondaga Reservation.^[10] Now spread over reservations in New York and Ontario, the Six Nations of the Haudenosaunee preserve this arrangement to this day in what they claim to be the "world's oldest representative democracy."^[11]

Seneca Nation of Indians

• 
  Jimerson Town (Allegany Reservation)


• 
  Irving (Cattaraugus Reservation)

The Seneca Nation republic was founded in 1848 and has two capitals that rotate responsibilities every two years. Jimerson Town was founded in the 1960s following the formation of the Allegheny Reservoir. The Senecas also have an administrative longhouse in Steamburg but do not consider that location to be a capital.

Navajo Nation

• Window Rock

Window Rock (Navajo: Tségháhoodzání), Arizona, is a small city that serves as the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation (1936–present), the largest territory of a sovereign Native American nation in North America. It lies within the boundaries of the St. Michaels Chapter, adjacent to the Arizona and New Mexico state line. Window Rock hosts the Navajo Nation governmental campus which contains the Navajo Nation Council, Navajo Nation Supreme Court, the offices of the Navajo Nation President and Vice President, and many Navajo government buildings.

Unrecognized national capitals

There have been a handful of nations within the current borders of the United States which were never officially recognized as legally independent sovereign entities; however, these nations did have de facto control over their respective regions during their existence.

Vermont Republic

Before joining the United States as the fourteenth state, Vermont was an independent republic known as the Vermont Republic. Two cities served as the capital of the Republic:

• 
  Westminster, 1777


• 
  Windsor, 1777–1791

The current capital of the State of Vermont is Montpelier.

State of Franklin

The State of Franklin was an autonomous, secessionist United States territory created, not long after the end of the American Revolution, from territory that later was ceded by North Carolina to the federal government. Franklin's territory later became part of the state of Tennessee. Franklin was never officially admitted into the Union of the United States and existed for only four years.

• 
  Jonesborough, Tennessee, 1784–?


• 
  Greeneville, Tennessee, 1785?–?

State of Muskogee

The State of Muskogee was a short-lived Native American state in Florida, created by the Englishman William Augustus Bowles, who was its "Director General", author of its Constitution and designer of its flag.^[12] It consisted of several tribes of Creeks and Seminoles. It existed from 1799 to 1803. It had one capital:

• 
  Miccosukee,^[13] 1799–1803

Republic of West Florida

The Republic of West Florida was a short-lived republic involving the area known today as Louisiana's Florida Parishes — at the time the westernmost portion of Spanish West Florida. The area was soon seized by the United States under President James Madison and incorporated into the Territory of Orleans. None of the Republic of West Florida was within the boundaries of modern Florida.

• 
  St. Francisville, Louisiana, 1810

Republic of Indian Stream

The Republic of Indian Stream was an unrecognized independent nation within the present state of New Hampshire.

• 
  Pittsburg, New Hampshire, 1832–1835

California Republic

Before being annexed by the United States in 1848 (following the Mexican–American War), a small portion of north-central California declared itself the California Republic, in an act of independence from Mexico, in 1846 (see Bear Flag Revolt). The republic only existed a month before it disbanded itself, to join the advancing American army and therefore became part of the United States.

The very short-lived California Republic was never recognized by the United States, Mexico or any other nation. There was one de facto capital of the California Republic:

• 
  Sonoma, 1846

Confederate States

The Confederate States of America (C.S.A.) had two capitals during its existence. The first capital was established February 4, 1861, in Montgomery, Alabama, and remained there until it was moved to Richmond, Virginia, on May 29, 1861, after Virginia seceded on May 23.

The individual state capitals remained the same in the Confederacy as they had been in the Union (U.S.A.), although as the advancing Union Army used those cities for military districts, some of the Confederate governments were relocated or moved out of state, traveling along with secessionist armies.

• 
  Montgomery, February 4, 1861 – May 29, 1861


• 
  Richmond, May 29, 1861 – April 3, 1865

Historical state, colonial, and territorial capitals

Most of the original Thirteen Colonies had their capitals occupied or attacked by the British during the American Revolutionary War. State governments operated where and as they could. The City of New York was occupied by British troops from 1776 to 1783. A similar situation occurred during the War of 1812, during the American Civil War in many Confederate states, and during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680–1692 in New Mexico.

Twenty-two state capitals have been a capital longer than their state has been a state, since they served as the capital of a predecessor territory, colony, or republic. Boston, Massachusetts, has been a capital city since 1630; it is the oldest continuously-running capital in the United States. Santa Fe, New Mexico, is the oldest capital city, having become capital in 1610 and interrupted only by the aforementioned Pueblo Revolt. An even older Spanish city, St. Augustine, Florida, served as a colonial capital from 1565 until about 1820, more than 250 years.

The table below includes the following information:

1. The state, the year in which statehood was granted, and the state's capital are shown in bold type. NOTE: For the first thirteen states, formerly the Thirteen Colonies of Great Britain on the Atlantic seaboard, the year of statehood is shown as 1776 (United States Declaration of Independence) rather than the subsequent year each state ratified the 1787 United States Constitution. (See List of U.S. states by date of admission to the Union.)


2. The year listed for each capital is the starting date; the ending date is the starting date for the successor unless otherwise indicated.


3. In many cases, capital cities of historical jurisdictions were outside of a state's present borders. (Those cities are generally indicated with the two-letter abbreviation for the U.S. state in which the former administrative capital is now located.)

Historical capitals in the United States of America

State	Capital	Date	Notes
Alabama[14] Statehood in 1819	San Agustín	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida.[15]
	Savannah	1733	Capital of the British proprietary Colony of Georgia.
		1755	Capital of the British Province of Georgia.
		1776	Capitals of the State of Georgia.
	Augusta (GA)	1778
	Heard's Fort (GA)	1780
	Augusta (GA)	1781
	Savannah (GA)	1782
	Ebenezer (GA)	1782
	Savannah (GA)	1784
	Augusta (GA)	1786
	Louisville (GA)	1796
	Natchez (MS)	1798	Capitals of the Mississippi Territory.
	Washington (MS)	1802
	St. Stephens	1817	Capital of the Alabama Territory.
	Huntsville	1819	Capitals of the State of Alabama.
	Cahawba	1820
	Tuscaloosa	1826
	Montgomery	1846	Capital of the State of Alabama. (Capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861.)
Alaska[16] Statehood in 1959	Novo-Arkhangelsk Sitka	1808	Capital of the Russian colony of Alaska.
		1867	Capital of the Department of Alaska.
		1900	Capitals of the District of Alaska.
	Juneau	1906
		1912	Capital of the Territory of Alaska.
		1959	Capital of the State of Alaska.
Arizona[17] Statehood in 1912	Santa Fe (NM)	1848	Capital of the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico 1848–1850.
		1850	Capital of the U.S. Territory of New Mexico 1850–1912.
	Mesilla (NM)	1862	Capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona (southern New Mexico and Arizona 1862).
	San Antonio (TX)	1862	Capital of the government-in-exile of the Confederate Territory of Arizona 1862–1865.
	Fort Whipple	1864	Capitals of the U.S. Territory of Arizona.
	Prescott	1864
	Tucson	1867
	Prescott	1877
	Phoenix	1889
		1912	Capital of the State of Arizona.
Arkansas[18] Statehood in 1836	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of La Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Louisiana Territory.
		1812	Capital of the Missouri Territory.
	Arkansas Post	1819	Capitals of the Arkansaw Territory.[19]
	Little Rock	1821
		1836	Capital of the State of Arkansas.[19] (Washington was the Confederate state capital 1863–1865.)
California[20] Statehood in 1850	Loreto (BCS)	1770	Capitals of the Spanish Virreinato de la Nueva España colonies of las Californias.
	Presidio Reál de San Carlos de Monterey Monterey	1777
		1804	Capital of the Spanish Virreinato de la Nueva España province of Alta California.
		1821	Capital of the Mexican province of Alta California.
		1846	Capital of the U.S. military government of California.
		1849	Capital of the Provisional Government of California.
	Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe	1850	Capitals of the State of California
	Vallejo	1852
	Benicia	1853
	Sacramento[d]	1854
Colorado[21] Statehood in 1876	Denver City[22]	1859	Capitals of the extralegal Territory of Jefferson.
	Golden City	1860
	Denver City	1861	Capitals of the Territory of Colorado.
	Colorado City	1862
	Golden City	1862
	Denver City Denver[23]	1867
		1876	Capital of the State of Colorado.
Connecticut Statehood in 1776	Fort Amsterdam (NY)	1625	Capital of the Netherlands colony of New Netherland.
	Hartford	1639	Capital of the English Colony of Connecticut 1639–1686.
	New-Haven	1640	Capital of the English Colony of New-Haven until its merger into the Connecticut Colony in 1662.
	Boston (MA)	1686	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America.
	Hartford	1689	Capital of the English Colony of Connecticut.
	joint capitals	1701	Hartford and New-Haven served as the "co-capitals" of the English Colony of Connecticut, with the Assembly holding its May session in Hartford and its October session in New-Haven.
		1707	Hartford and New-Haven joint capitals of the British Colony of Connecticut.
		1776	Hartford and New Haven joint capitals of the State of Connecticut.
	Hartford	1875	Capital of the State of Connecticut.
Delaware Statehood in 1776	Fort Kristina	1638	Capital of the Swedish colony of Nya Sverige.
	Fort Amsterdam Nieuw-Amsterdam New-York Nieuw-Oranje New-York (NY)	1655	Capital of the Dutch province of New Netherland.
		1664	Capital of the English Colony of New-York.
		1673	Capital of the Dutch military government of New Netherland.
		1674	Capital of the English Colony of New-York.
	Philadelphia (PA)	1682	Capital of the English Colony of Pennsylvania.
	New Castle	1704	Capital of the English Lower Counties on the Delaware.
		1707	Capital of the British Lower Counties on the Delaware.
		1776	Capitals of the State of Delaware.
	Dover	1777
Florida[24] Statehood in 1845	Fort de la Caroline	1564	Capital of the French colony of La Caroline 1564–1565.
	San Agustín St. Augustine	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida 1565–1763.[15]
		1763	Capital of the British province of East Florida 1763–1783.
		1783	Capital of the Spanish province of Florida Oriental 1783–1821.
	Santa María de Ochuse Pensacola	1763	Capital of the British province of British West Florida 1763–1783.
		1783	Capital of the Spanish province of Florida Occidental 1783–1821.
	Tallahassee	1824	Capital of the Florida Territory.
		1845	Capital of the State of Florida.
Georgia[25] Statehood in 1776	San Agustín	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida.[15]
	Savannah	1733	Capital of the British proprietary Colony of Georgia.
		1755	Capital of the British Province of Georgia.
		1776	Capitals of the State of Georgia.
	Augusta	1778
	Heard's Fort	1780
	Augusta	1781
	Savannah	1782
	Ebenezer	1782
	Savannah	1784
	Augusta	1786
	Louisville	1796
	Milledgeville	1807
	Macon	1864
	Milledgeville	1865
	Atlanta	1868
Hawaii Statehood in 1959	Lahaina	1820	Capitals of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
	Honolulu	1845
		1894	Capital of the Republic of Hawaii.
		1898	Capital of the Territory of Hawaii.
		1959	Capital of the State of Hawaiʻi.
Idaho[26] Statehood in 1890	Oregon City (OR)	1843	Capital of the Provisional Government of Oregon in the Oregon Country.[27]
		1848	Capitals of the Territory of Oregon (all of Idaho 1848–1853, southern Idaho 1853–1859.)
	Salem (OR)	1851
	Olympia (WA)	1853	Capital of the Territory of Washington (northern Idaho 1853–1859, all of Idaho 1859–1863.)
	Lewiston	1863	Capitals of the Territory of Idaho.
	Boise	1865
		1890	Capital of the State of Idaho.
Illinois[28] Statehood in 1818	Marietta (OH)	1788	Capital of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio.
	Vincennes (IN)	1800	Capital of the Territory of Indiana.
	Kaskaskia	1809	Capital of the Territory of Illinois.
		1818	Capitals of the State of Illinois.
	Vandalia	1820
	Springfield	1839
Indiana Statehood in 1816	Marietta (OH)	1788	Capital of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio.
	Vincennes	1800	Capitals of the Territory of Indiana.
	Corydon	1813
		1816	Capitals of the State of Indiana.
	Indianapolis	1825
Iowa[29] Statehood in 1846	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of La Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Louisiana Territory.
		1812	Capital of the Missouri Territory (1812–1821).
	Detroit (MI)	1834	Capital of the Territory of Michigan.
	Belmont (WI)	1836	Capitals of the Territory of Wisconsin.
	Burlington	1837
		1838	Capitals of the Territory of Iowa.
	Iowa City	1841
		1846	Capitals of the State of Iowa.
	Des Moines	1857
Kansas[30] Statehood in 1861	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of La Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Louisiana Territory.
		1812	Capital of the Missouri Territory (1812–1821).
	Pawnee	1855	Capital of the Kansas Territory (July 2 – July 6).
	Shawnee Mission	1855	Capital of the Kansas Territory.
	Lecompton	1856	Capital de jure (pro-slavery) of the Territory of Kansas.
	Topeka		Capital de facto (anti-slavery) of the Territory of Kansas.
	Minneola	1858	Declared capital by territorial legislature, although this action was later declared void.[31]
	Topeka	1861	Capital of the State of Kansas.
Kentucky[32] Statehood in 1792	Williamsburg (VA)	1699	Capital of the English Colony of Virginia.
		1707	Capital of the British Colony of Virginia.
		1776	Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
	Richmond (VA)	1780
	Frankfort	1792	Capital of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (The government initially met at Lexington but Frankfort was quickly named the capital. Bowling Green was the rival Confederate state capital 1861–62.)
Louisiana[33] Statehood in 1812	San Agustín	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida.[15]
	La Mobile	1702	Capitals of the French colony of La Louisiane.
	Bilocci	1720
	La Nouvelle-Orléans Nueva Orleans New Orleans	1722
		1763	Capital of the Spanish district of Baja Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of La Basse-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the Territory of Orleans.
		1812	Capitals of the State of Louisiana.
	Donaldsonville	1830
	New Orleans	1831
	Baton Rouge	1849
	Opelousas	1862
	Shreveport	1863
	New Orleans	1865
	Baton Rouge	1882
Maine[34] Statehood in 1820	Île Sainte-Croix	1604	Capitals of the French colony of l'Acadie.
	Port-Royal (NS)	1605
	Boston (MA)	1630	Capital of the English Colony of Massachusetts Bay.
		1686	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America.
		1689	Capital of the dissident Colony of Massachusetts Bay.
		1691	Capital of the English Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1774	Capital of the dissident Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1776	Capital of the State of Massachusetts Bay.
		1780	Capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
	Portland	1820	Capital of the State of Maine.
		1827	Capital de facto of the State of Maine.
	Augusta		Capital de jure of the State of Maine.
		1832	Capital of the State of Maine.
Maryland[35] Statehood in 1776	St. Mary's City	1634	Capital of the English proprietary Colony of Maryland.
	Anne Arundel's Towne Annapolis	1694	Capital of the English Province of Maryland.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of Maryland.
		1776	Capital of the State of Maryland. (Capital of the United States of America 1783–1784.)
Massachusetts Statehood in 1776	Plimouth	1620	Capital of the English Colony of New-Plimouth 1620–1686.
	Boston	1630	Capital of the English Colony of Massachusetts Bay 1630–1686.
		1686	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America 1686–1689.
	Plimouth	1688	Capital of the dissident Colony of New-Plimouth 1688–1692.
	Boston	1689	Capital of the dissident Colony of Massachusetts Bay 1689–1692.
		1692	Capital of the English Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1774	Capital of the dissident Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1776	Capital of the State of Massachusetts Bay.
		1780	Capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Michigan[36] Statehood in 1837	Marietta (OH)	1788	Capitals of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio (all of Michigan 1788–1800, eastern Michigan 1800–1803.)
	Chillicothe (OH)	1800
	Vincennes (IN)		Capitals of the Territory of Indiana (western Michigan 1800–1803; all of Michigan 1803–1805, a portion of the Upper Peninsula 1805–1816.)
	Corydon (IN)	1813
	Detroit	1805	Capital of the Territory of Michigan (Lower Peninsula 1805–1818, all of Michigan 1818–1837.) (Detroit was occupied by British Armed Forces 1812–1813.)
		1837	Capitals of the State of Michigan.
	Lansing	1847
Minnesota[37] Statehood in 1858	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana 1765–1800.
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane (west of Mississippi River 1800–1804.)
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (west of Mississippi River under the authority of the Indiana Territory 1804–1805.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana (west of Mississippi River 1805–1812.)
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri (west of Mississippi River 1812–1821.)
	Marietta (OH)	1788	Capital of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio (east of Mississippi River 1788–1800.)
	Vincennes (IN)	1800	Capital of the Territory of Indiana (east of Mississippi River 1800–1809.)
	Kaskaskia (IL)	1809	Capital of the Territory of Illinois (east of Mississippi River 1809–1818.)
	Detroit (MI)	1818	Capital of the Territory of Michigan (east of Mississippi River 1818-1834, all of Minnesota 1834–1836.)
	Belmont (WI)	1836	Capitals of the Territory of Wisconsin.
	Burlington (IA)	1837
		1838	Capital of the Territory of Iowa (west of Mississippi River 1838–1841.)
	Madison (WI)		Capital of the Territory of Wisconsin (east of Mississippi River 1838–1848.)
	Iowa City (IA)	1841	Capital of the Territory of Iowa (west of Mississippi River 1841–1846.)
	Saint Paul	1849	Capital of the Territory of Minnesota.
		1858	Capital of the State of Minnesota.
Mississippi[38] Statehood in 1817	San Agustín	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of La Florida.[15]
	Savannah	1733	Capital of the British proprietary Colony of Georgia.
		1755	Capital of the British Province of Georgia.
		1776	Capitals of the State of Georgia.
	Augusta (GA)	1778
	Heard's Fort (GA)	1780
	Augusta (GA)	1781
	Savannah (GA)	1782
	Ebenezer (GA)	1782
	Savannah (GA)	1784
	Augusta (GA)	1786
	Louisville (GA)	1796
	Natchez	1798	Capitals of the Territory of Mississippi.
	Washington	1802
	Natchez	1817	Capitals of the State of Mississippi.
	Jackson	1821
Missouri Statehood in 1821	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of La Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Louisiana Territory.
		1812	Capital of the Missouri Territory.
	Saint Charles	1821	Capitals of the State of Missouri. (A Confederate state government in exile operated from Neosho 1861–1863, and from Marshall, Texas, 1863–1865.)
	Jefferson City	1826
Montana[39] Statehood in 1889	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana (east of Continental Divide 1763–1800.)
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane (east of Continental Divide 1800–1804.)
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (east of Continental Divide under the authority of the Indiana Territory 1804–1805.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana (east of Continental Divide 1805–1812.)
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri (east of Continental Divide 1812–1821.)
	Fort Vancouver (WA)	1825	Capital de facto of the Oregon Country (west of Continental Divide 1818–1843.)
	Oregon City (OR)	1843	Capital of the Provisional Government of Oregon (west of Continental Divide 1843–1848.)
		1848	Capitals of the Territory of Oregon (west of Continental Divide 1848–1853.)
	Salem (OR)	1851
	Olympia (WA)	1853	Capital of the Territory of Washington (west of Continental Divide 1853–1863.)
	Omaha (NE)	1854	Capital of the Territory of Nebraska (east of Continental Divide 1854–1861.)
	Yankton (SD)	1861	Capital of the Territory of Dakota (east of Continental Divide 1861–1863.)
	Lewiston (ID)	1863	Capital of the Territory of Idaho.
	Bannack	1864	Capitals of the Territory of Montana.
	Virginia City	1865
	Helena	1875
		1889	Capital of the State of Montana.
Nebraska Statehood in 1867	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana.
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri (1812–1821).
	Omaha	1854	Capitals of the Territory of Nebraska.
	Lancaster Lincoln	1867
		1867	Capital of the State of Nebraska.
Nevada[40] Statehood in 1864	Fillmore (UT)	1850	Capitals of the Territory of Utah.
	Salt Lake City (UT)	1858
	Carson City	1861	Capital of the Territory of Nevada.
		1864	Capital of the State of Nevada.
New Hampshire[41] Statehood in 1776	Boston (MA)	1630	Capital of the English Colony of Massachusetts Bay.
	Portsmouth	1680	Capital of the English Province of New Hampshire.
	Boston (MA)	1686	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America.
	Portsmouth	1689	Capital of the dissident Province of New Hampshire.
		1691	Capital of the English Province of New Hampshire.
		1698	Capital of the English Province of New Hampshire under jurisdiction of the Royal Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of New Hampshire under jurisdiction of the Royal Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
		1741	Capital of the British Province of New Hampshire.
	Exeter	1775	Capital of the Revolutionary War government of New Hampshire.
		1776	Capitals of the State of New Hampshire.
	Concord	1808
New Jersey Statehood in 1776	Fort Amsterdam (NY)	1625	Capital of the Dutch colony of New Netherland.
		1652	Capital of the Dutch province of New Netherland.
	Elizabethtown (now Elizabeth)	1665	Capital of the English Province of New Jersey.
	Perth Amboy	1673	Capital of the English Province of East Jersey 1673–1688.
	Burlington		Capital of the English Province of West Jersey 1673–1688.
	Boston (MA)	1688	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America 1688–1689.
	Perth Amboy	1689	Capital of the English Province of East Jersey 1689–1702.
	Burlington		Capital of the English Province of West Jersey 1689–1702.
	joint capitals	1702	East Jersey and West Jersey were re-united as the English Province of New Jersey in 1702. Perth Amboy and Burlington served jointly as the capital until 1784.
		1707	Joint capitals of the British Province of New Jersey.
		1776	Joint capitals of the State of New Jersey.
	Trenton	1784	Capital of the State of New Jersey. (Capital of the United States of America in 1784.)
New Mexico Statehood in 1912	San Juan de los Caballeros	1598	Capitals of the Spanish Virreinato de la Nueva España colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
	La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís	1610
	El Paso del Norte (now Ciudad Juárez CHH)	1680	Capital of the Spanish Virreinato de la Nueva España colony-in-exile of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (Pueblo Revolt 1680–1692).
	La Villa Real de la Santa Fé de San Francisco de Asís Santa Fe	1692	Capital of the Spanish Virreinato de la Nueva España colony of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
		1821	Capital of the Mexican province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
		1824	Capital of the Mexican territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
		1846	Capital of the U.S. military government of New Mexico 1846.
		1846	Capital of the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico 1846–1850.
		1850	Capital of the U.S. Territory of New Mexico 1850–1912.
	Mesilla	1862	Capital of the Confederate Territory of Arizona (southern New Mexico and Arizona 1862).
	San Antonio (TX)	1862	Capital of the government-in-exile of the Confederate Territory of Arizona 1862–1865.
	Santa Fe	1912	Capital of the State of New Mexico.
New York Statehood in 1776	Fort Amsterdam Nieuw-Amsterdam New-York Nieuw-Oranje New-York	1625	Capital of the Dutch colony of New Netherland (Novum Belgium).
		1652	Capital of the Dutch province of New Netherland.
		1664	Capital of the English Province of New York.
		1673	Capital of the Dutch military government of New Netherland.
		1674	Capital of the English Province of New York.
	Boston (MA)	1688	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America.
	New-York	1689	Capital of the dissident government of New-York.
		1691	Capital of the English Province of New York.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of New York.
		1776	Capitals of the State of New York.
	Kingston	1777
	Hurley	1777
	Poughkeepsie	1777
	New York	1788	Capital of the State of New York. (Capital of the United States of America 1785–1788 and 1789–1790.)
	Albany	1797	Capital of the State of New York.
North Carolina Statehood in 1776	San Agustín (FL)	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of la Florida.[15]
	Charlestown (SC)	1670	Capital of the English Province of Carolina.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of Carolina.
	New Bern	1712	Capital of the British Province of North Carolina.
		1776	Capitals of the State of North Carolina.
	Fayetteville	1789
	Raleigh	1794
North Dakota Statehood in 1889	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana.
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri (1812–1821).
	Detroit (MI)	1834	Capital of the Territory of Michigan (east of Missouri River and White Earth River 1834–1836.)
	Belmont (WI)	1836	Capitals of the Territory of Wisconsin (east of Missouri River and White Earth River 1836–1838.)
	Burlington (IA)	1837
		1838	Capitals of the Territory of Iowa (east of Missouri River and White Earth River 1838–1846.)
	Iowa City (IA)	1841
	Saint Paul (MN)	1849	Capital of the Territory of Minnesota (east of Missouri River and White Earth River 1849–1858.)
	Omaha (NE)	1854	Capital of the Territory of Nebraska (west of Missouri River or White Earth River 1854–1861.)
	Yankton (SD)	1861	Capitals of the Territory of Dakota.
	Bismarck	1883
		1889	Capital of the State of North Dakota.
Ohio Statehood in 1803	Marietta	1788	Capitals of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio.
	Chillicothe	1800
		1803	Capitals of the State of Ohio.
	Zanesville	1810
	Chillicothe	1812
	Columbus	1816
Oklahoma Statehood in 1907	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana.
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri.
	Arkansas Post (AR)	1819	Capitals of the Territory of Arkansaw[19] (south of the parallel 36°30' north 1819–1824, southeastern Oklahoma 1824–1828.)
	Little Rock (AR)	1821
	Tahlequah	1838	Capital of the Cherokee Nation.
	Tuskahoma	1838	Capital of the Choctaw Nation.
	Tishomingo	1855	Capital of the Chickasaw Nation.
	Wewoka	1866	Capital of the Seminole Nation.
	Okmulgee	1867	Capital of the Creek Nation.
	Pawhuska	?	Capital of the Osage Nation.
	Guthrie	1889	Capital of the Territory of Oklahoma.
		1907	Capitals of the State of Oklahoma.
	Oklahoma City	1910
Oregon[42] Statehood in 1859	Champoeg	1843	Temporary capital of the disputed Oregon Country.
	Oregon City	1843	Capital of the Provisional Government of Oregon in the Oregon Country.[27]
		1848	Capitals of the Territory of Oregon.
	Salem	1851
	Corvallis	1855
	Salem	1855
		1859	Capital of the State of Oregon.
Pennsylvania[43] Statehood in 1776	Philadelphia	1682	Capital of the English proprietary Colony of Pennsylvania.
		1707	Capital of the British proprietary Colony of Pennsylvania.
		1776	Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (Capital of the United States of America 1776, 1777, 1778–1783, and 1790–1800.)
	Lancaster	1799	Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (Capital of the United States of America 1777.)
	Harrisburg	1812	Capital of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Rhode Island Statehood in 1776	Providence	1636	Capital of the English Colony of Providence 1636–1644.
	Portsmouth	1639	Capital of the English Colony of Aquidneck Island 1639–1644.
		1644	Capital of the English Colony of Rhode Island.
	Providence	1644	Capital of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
	Boston (MA)	1686	Capital of the English Dominion of New-England in America.
	Providence	1689	Capital of the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
		1707	Capital of the British Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
	five capitals	1776	From 1776 to 1853, the legislature of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations rotated among the county seats of the state's five counties: Providence, Newport, East Greenwich, South Kingstown, and Bristol.
	joint capitals	1854	From 1854 to 1899, the legislature of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations alternated sessions between Providence and Newport.
	Providence	1900	Capital of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations.
South Carolina Statehood in 1776	San Agustín (FL)	1565	Capital of the Spanish colony of la Florida.[15]
	Charlestown	1670	Capital of the English Province of Carolina.
		1707	Capital of the British Province of Carolina.
		1712	Capital of the British Province of South Carolina.
		1776	Capitals of the State of South Carolina.
	Columbia	1786
South Dakota Statehood in 1889	Saint-Louis San Luis St. Louis (MO)	1765	Capital of the Spanish (though predominantly Francophone) district of Alta Louisiana.
		1800	Capital of the French district of la Haute-Louisiane.
		1804	Capital of the District of Louisiana (under the authority of the Indiana Territory.)
		1805	Capital of the Territory of Louisiana.
		1812	Capital of the Territory of Missouri (1812–1821).
	Detroit (MI)	1834	Capital of the Territory of Michigan (east of Missouri River 1834–1836.)
	Belmont (WI)	1836	Capitals of the Territory of Wisconsin (east of Missouri River 1836–1838.)
	Burlington (IA)	1837
		1838	Capitals of the Territory of Iowa (east of Missouri River 1838–1846.)
	Iowa City (IA)	1841
	Saint Paul (MN)	1849	Capital of the Territory of Minnesota (east of Missouri River 1849–1858.)
	Omaha (NE)	1854	Capital of the Territory of Nebraska (west of Missouri River 1854–1861.)
	Yankton	1861	Capitals of the Territory of Dakota.
	Bismarck (ND)	1883
	Pierre	1889	Capital of the State of South Dakota.
Tennessee[44] Statehood in 1796	New Bern (NC)	1712	Capital of the British Province of North Carolina.
		1776	Capital of the State of North Carolina.
	Rocky Mount	1790	Capitals of the Territory South of the River Ohio.
	White's Fort Knoxville	1791
		1796	Capital of the State of Tennessee.
	Kingston	1807	Capital of the State of Tennessee for one day in 1807 to fulfill treaty obligations with the Cherokee Nation.
	Knoxville	1807	Capitals of the State of Tennessee.
	Nashville	1812
	Knoxville	1817
	Murfreesboro	1818
	Nashville	1826
Texas Statehood in 1845	Los Adaes (LA)	1729	Capitals of the Spanish colony of Tejas.
	San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio)	1772
	Saltillo (COA)	1824	Capitals of the Mexican province of Coahuila y Tejas.
	Monclova (COA)	1833
	Washington (now Washington-on-the-Brazos)	1836	Capitals of the Republic of Texas.
	Galveston	1836
	Harrisburg	1836
	Velasco	1836
	Columbia	1836
	Houston	1837
	Austin	1839
		1845	Capital of the State of Texas.
Utah Statehood in 1896	Salt Lake City	1849	Capital of the extralegal State of Deseret.
	Fillmore	1850	Capitals of the Territory of Utah.
	Salt Lake City	1858
		1896	Capital of the State of Utah.
Vermont[45] Statehood in 1791	Westminster	1777	Capitals of the Republic of New Connecticut.
	Windsor	1777
		1777	Capital of the Vermont Republic.
		1791	Capitals of the State of Vermont.
	Montpelier	1805
Virginia[46] Statehood in 1776	Jamestown	1619	Capitals of the English Colony of Virginia.
	Middle Plantation Williamsburg	1698
		1707	Capital of the British Colony of Virginia.
		1776	Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
	Richmond	1780	Capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia. (Capital of the Confederate States of America 1861–1865.) (A rival pro-Union state government operated from Wheeling 1861–1863 and from Alexandria 1863–1865.)
Washington[47] Statehood in 1889	Champoeg (OR)	1843	Temporary capital of the disputed Oregon Country.
	Oregon City (OR)	1843	Capital of the Provisional Government of Oregon in the Oregon Country.[27]
		1848	Capitals of the Territory of Oregon.
	Salem (OR)	1851
	Olympia	1853	Capital of the Territory of Washington.
		1889	Capital of the State of Washington.
West Virginia Statehood in 1863	Jamestown (VA)	1619	Capitals of the English Colony of Virginia.
	Middle Plantation (VA) Williamsburg (VA)	1698
		1707	Capital of the British Colony of Virginia.
		1776	Capitals of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
	Richmond (VA)	1780
	Wheeling	1861	Capital of the rival pro-Union government of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
		1863	Capitals of the State of West Virginia.
	Charleston	1870
	Wheeling	1875
	Charleston	1885
Wisconsin[48] Statehood in 1848	Marietta (OH)	1788	Capital of the Territory Northwest of the River Ohio.
	Vincennes (IN)	1800	Capital of the Territory of Indiana.
	Kaskaskia (IL)	1809	Capital of the Territory of Illinois.
	Detroit (MI)	1818	Capital of the Territory of Michigan.
	Belmont	1836	Capitals of the Territory of Wisconsin.
	Burlington (IA)	1837
	Madison	1838
		1848	Capital of the State of Wisconsin.
Wyoming[49] Statehood in 1890	Lewiston (ID)	1863	Capital of the Territory of Idaho.
	Yankton (SD)	1864	Capital of the Territory of Dakota.
	Cheyenne	1869	Capital of the Territory of Wyoming.
		1890	Capital of the State of Wyoming.

See also

• List of largest cities of U.S. states and territories by population

• History of the United States


• Lists of capitals


• List of U.S. colonial possessions


• Outline of United States history


• Political divisions of the United States


• Territorial evolution of the United States


• Timeline of country and capital changes

Notes

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References

Further reading

• Christian Montes. American Capitals: A Historical Geography (University of Chicago Press; 2014) 394 pages; scholarly study of geographic and other factors that have shaped the designation of capitals in all 50 states

External links

• Florida Facts - The Capitol


• The Capitalization of Georgia


• The State Houses of Louisiana


• Las Vegas: Nevada's Next State Capital?


• New Hampshire Senate for Kids - Capitals


• 
  Handbook of Texas Online – Capitals


• Colonial Capitals of the Dominion of Virginia


• Utah History To Go - Utah's Capitols