location.
has been the national capital of the United States since 1800.
From 1774 to 1800, Congress met in numerous locations; as such, the following cities can be said to have once been the United States capital
had three capitals during its existence.
Before joining the United States in 1845, Texas was an independent nation known as the
. Seven cities served as its capital:
Prior to becoming a territory of the United States in 1898, Hawaii was an independent nation. Two cities served as its capital:
.
.
*The year listed for each city is the starting date; the ending date is the starting date for the successor unless otherwise indicated.
| State | Date | Notes>- style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Alabama[Capitals of Alabama. Alabama Department of Archives and History. Updated October 29, 2001. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1819 | St. Stephens | 1817 | Alabama Territory capital |
|---|
| Huntsville | 1819 | State capital |
| Cahawba | 1820 |
| Tuscaloosa | 1826 |
| Montgomery | 1846 | State capital; Confederate national capital briefly during 1861|- style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Alaska[Frequently Asked Questions About Alaska. Statewide Library Electronic Doorway. Updated September 21, 2004. Accessed June 9, 2005; based on Alaska Blue Book 1993-94, 11th ed., Juneau, Department of Education, Division of State Libraries, Archives & Museums. ExploreNorth: The History of Sitka. Department of Community and Economic Development, Alaska Community Database Online. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1959 | Sitka | 1808 | Russian Alaska capital (as New Archangel) |
| 1867 | Department of Alaska capital |
| 1900 | District of Alaska capitals |
| Juneau | 1906 |
| 1959 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Arizona[Capitals before the Capitol. Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1912 | Prescott | 1864 | Arizona Territory capitals |
| Tucson | 1867 |
| Prescott | 1877 |
| Phoenix | 1889 |
| 1912 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Arkansas[Educational Materials: Facts. Arkansas Secretary of State. Accessed June 9, 2005. Washington State Park 19th century village in SW Arkansas. Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Confederate Capital Old Division of State Parks. 2003. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1836 | Arkansas Post | 1819 | Arkansas Territory capitals |
| Little Rock | 1821 |
| 1836 | State capital; during 1861-1863, Washington was the Confederate state government capital|- style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | California[Previous Capitals of California. California State Library. Updated November 27, 2000. Accessed June 9, 2005. Historic Timeline. Historic Monterey. Created 2005. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1850 | Monterey | 1777 | Alta and Baja California capital under Spanish and Mexican rule |
| San José | 1850 | State capitals |
| Vallejo | 1851 |
| Benicia | 1853 |
| Sacramento | 1854 |
| San Francisco | 1866 |
| Sacramento | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Colorado[Early Capitol and Legislative Assembly Locations Colorado State Archives, Colorado State Capitol Virtual Tour. Updated June 20, 2003. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1876 | Auraria | 1859 | Territory of Jefferson capital |
| Colorado City | 1861 | Colorado Territory capital, federally unrecognized |
| Golden | 1862 | Colorado Territory capitals |
| Denver | 1867 |
| 1876 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Connecticut
Statehood in 1776 | New Haven | 1701 | Colonial capital |
| 1776 | State capitals |
| Hartford | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Delaware
Statehood in 1776 | New Castle | 1704 | Delaware colony capital |
| Dover | 1777 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Florida[Florida State History. Florida Division of Historical Resources.]
Statehood in 1845 | St. Augustine | 1565 | Spanish Florida colonial capital |
| 1821 | Florida Territory capital; British East Florida capital |
| Pensacola | Florida Territory capital; British West Florida capital |
| Tallahassee | 1824 | Florida Territory capital |
| 1845 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Georgia[Jackson, Edwin L. Story of Georgia's Capitols and Capital Cities. Carl Vinson Institute of Government. University of Georgia. 1988]
Statehood in 1776 | Savannah | 1733 | Georgia colony capital |
| 1777 | State capitals |
| Augustana | 1779 |
| Heard's Fort | 1780 |
| Augustana | 1781 |
| Savannah | 1782 |
| Ebenezer | 1782 |
| Savannah | 1784 |
| Augustana | 1786 |
| Louisville | 1796 |
| Milledgeville | 1807 |
| Macon | 1864 |
| Milledgeville | 1865 |
| Atlanta | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Hawaii
Statehood in 1959 | Lahaina | 1820 | Kingdom of Hawaii capital |
| Honolulu | 1845 |
| 1894 | Republic of Hawaii capital |
| 1898 | Hawaii Territory capital |
| 1959 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Idaho[Chronological History of Idaho. Idaho Office of the Governor. Created 2000. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1890 | Lewiston | 1863 | Idaho Territory capitals |
| Boise | 1864 |
| 1890 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Illinois[Past Capitols; based on Illinois Bluebook, 1975-1976. Created March 5, 2005. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1818 | Kaskaskia | 1809 | Illinois Territory capital |
| Vandalia | 1819 | State capitals |
| Springfield | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Indiana
Statehood in 1816 | Vincennes | 1800 | Indiana Territory capitals |
| Corydon | 1813 |
| 1816 | State capitals |
| Indianapolis | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Iowa[Sabin, Henry. Making of Iowa, chapter 24: Locating a Capital. Originally published 1900 by A. Flanagan Co. of Chicago and New York; published online by Iowa History Project, posted August 25, 2004. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1846 | Burlington | 1837 | Wisconsin Territory capital |
| 1838 | Iowa Territory capitals |
| Iowa City | 1841 |
| 1846 | State capitals |
| Des Moines | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Kansas[Harding, Eldon. Stories from the Kansas State Capital: Choosing a Capital City--Why Topeka?. Kansas State Historical Society. April 2001. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1861 | Pawnee | 1855 | Kansas Territory capital (July 2-6); in present Fort Riley |
| Shawnee Mission | 1855 | Kansas Territory capital; in present Fairway, Kansas |
| Lecompton | 1856 | Official (pro-slavery) Kansas Territory capital |
| Topeka | Unofficial capital |
| Topeka | 1861 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Kentucky[Kentucky's State Capitols. Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives. Accessed July 24, 2006.]
Statehood in 1792 | Danville | 1780 | Virginia's Kentucky District capital |
| Bowling Green | 1861 | Confederate state government capital, November, 1861 to February, 1862 |
| Frankfort | 1792 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Louisiana
Statehood in 1812[Note: The Louisiana Capitals information may be incorrect or incomplete. See http://www.state.la.us/about_history2.htm and elsewhere.] | Mobile Bay | 1702 | French colonial capitals |
| Biloxi | 1720 |
| New Orleans | 1722 | French and Spanish colonial capital |
| 1803 | Orleans Territory capital |
| 1812 | State capitals |
| Donaldsonville | 1830 |
| New Orleans | 1831 |
| Baton Rouge | 1849 |
| Opelousas | 1862 |
| Shreveport | 1863 |
| New Orleans | 1865 |
| Baton Rouge | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Maine[Students Questions Frequently Ask. Maine State Senate. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1820 | Portland | 1820 | State capitals de jure |
| Augusta | 1827 |
| Portland | 1832 | State capital de facto |
| Augusta | 1832 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Maryland[Historical Chronology. Maryland State Archives. Accessed July 24, 2006.]
Statehood in 1776 | St. Mary's City | 1634 | Province of Maryland capital |
| Annapolis | 1694 | Province of Maryland capital; previously named Anne Arundel Town |
| 1777 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Massachusetts
Statehood in 1776 | Boston | 1630 | Massachusetts Bay Colony capital |
| 1776 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Michigan[Michigan in Brief State of Michigan. Updated March 7, 2005. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1837 | Detroit | 1805 | Michigan Territory capital; occupied by British forces 1812 - 1813 |
| 1837 | State capitals |
| Lansing | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Minnesota[Saint Paul's 150th birthday. City of Saint Paul, Minnesota. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1858 | Saint Paul | 1849 | Minnesota Territory capital |
| 1858 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Mississippi[Bunn, Mike and Clay Williams, Capitals and Capitols: The Places and Spaces of Mississippi's Seat of Government. Mississippi History Now. Mississippi Historical Society Online. Posted September 2003. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1817 | Natchez | 1798 | Mississippi Territory capitals |
| Washington | 1802 |
| Natchez | 1817 | State capitals |
| Jackson | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Missouri
Statehood in 1821 | St. Louis | 1765 | French colonial capital |
| 1804 | Missouri Territory capital |
| Saint Charles | 1821 | State capital until 1825 |
| Marshall, Texas | | Exiled pro-Confederate Missouri government capital |
| Jefferson City | 1826 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Montana[Lambert, Kirby. Montana's crown jewel of architecture: The Montana state capitol Montana: The Magazine of Western History, Montana Historical Society. Summer 2002. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1889 | Bannack | 1864 | Montana Territory capital |
| Virginia City | 1865 |
| Helena | 1875 |
| 1889 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Nebraska
Statehood in 1867 | Omaha | 1854 | Nebraska Territory capital |
| Lincoln | 1867 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Nevada[Rocha, Guy Nevada State Archives Historical Myth a Month: Myth #28, Las Vegas: Nevada's Next State Capital. Updated July 14, 2003. Accessed June 9, 2005; originally published as Sierra Sage, Carson City/Carson Valley, Nevada. May 1998 edition.]
Statehood in 1864 | Carson City | 1861 | Territorial capital |
| 1864 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | New Hampshire[New Hampshire Senate Page For Kids. New Hampshire General Court. Accessed June 9, 2005. New Hampshire History in Brief. New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Created 1989. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1776 | Portsmouth | 1679 | Province of New Hampshire capital |
| Exeter | 1775 | Revolutionary War capital |
| 1776 | State capitals |
| Concord | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | New Jersey
Statehood in 1776 | Elizabethtown | 1686 | Province of New Jersey; now named Elizabeth |
| Princeton | 1783 | State capital; U.S. national capital |
| Trenton | 1784 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | New Mexico
Statehood in 1912 | Santa Fe | 1598 | Provincial capital of New Spain |
| 1821 | Mexican territorial capital |
| 1850 | New Mexico Territory capital |
| Mesilla | | Confederate Arizona Territory capital, 1861-1865 |
| Santa Fe | 1912 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | New York
Statehood in 1776 | New York | 1664 | Province of New York under British rule |
| Kingston | 1777 | State capitals |
| Hurley | 1777 |
| Poughkeepsie | 1777 |
| New York | 1789 | State capital; U.S. national capital 1785 â€" 1788, 1789 â€" 1790 |
| Albany | 1797 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | North Carolina
Statehood in 1776 | Charlestown | 1670 | Colonial capitals |
| New Bern | 1712 |
| 1776 | State capitals |
| Raleigh | 1794 |
North Dakota
Statehood in 1889 | Yankton | 1861 | Dakota Territory capital; now part of South Dakota |
| Bismarck | 1883 | Dakota Territory capital |
| 1889 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Ohio
Statehood in 1803 | Marietta | 1788 | Northwest Territory capitals |
| Chillicothe | 1800 |
| 1803 | State capitals |
| Zanesville | 1810 |
| Chillicothe | 1812 |
| Columbus | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Oklahoma
Statehood in 1907 | Tahlequah | 1838 | Cherokee capital |
| Tuskahoma | 1838 | Choctaw capital |
| Tishomingo | 1855 | Chickasaw capital |
| Wewoka | 1866 | Seminole capital |
| Okmulgee | 1867 | Creek capital |
| Guthrie | 1889 | Oklahoma Territory capital |
| Oklahoma City | 1910 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Oregon[Oregon Legislative Assembly History. Oregon State Archives. Accessed July 24, 2006.]
Statehood in 1859 | Fort Vancouver | 1825 | Oregon Country capital de facto |
| Oregon City | 1848 | Oregon Territory capitals |
| Salem | 1851 |
| Corvallis | 1855 |
| Salem | 1855 |
| Salem | 1859 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Pennsylvania[The History of Pennsylvania's Capital. Pennsylvania Department of Education. Accessed July 24, 2006.]
Statehood in 1776 | Philadelphia | 1682 | Province of Pennsylvania capital |
| 1776 | State capital; U.S. national capital 1776, 1777, 1778-1783, 1790-1800 |
| Lancaster | 1799 | State capital; U.S. national capital 1777 |
| York | | U.S. national capital 1777-1778 |
| Harrisburg | 1812 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Rhode Island
Statehood in 1776 | Providence | 1776 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | South Carolina
Statehood in 1776 | Charlestown | 1670 | Colonial capital |
| 1776 | State capitals |
| Columbia | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | South Dakota
Statehood in 1889 | Yankton | 1861 | Dakota Territory capital |
| Bismarck | 1883 | Dakota Territory capital; now capital of North Dakota |
| Pierre | 1889 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Tennessee[Capital Cities. Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. 2002. Accessed March 12, 2006.]
Statehood in 1796 | Rocky Mount | 1790 | Southwest Territory capital |
| Knoxville | 1791 | Southwest Territory capital; formerly White's Fort |
| 1796 | State capital |
| Kingston | | State capital for one day in 1807 to fulfill treaty obligations with the Cherokee |
| Nashville | 1812 | State capitals |
| Murfreesboro | 1818 |
| Nashville | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Texas
Statehood in 1845 | Los Adaes | 1721 | Colonial capital; now part of Louisiana |
| San Antonio de Bexar | 1772 | Colonial capital; now San Antonio |
| Saltillo | 1824 | Coahuila y Tejas capitals |
| Monclova | 1833 |
| Washington | 1836 | Republic of Texas capital; now Washington-on-the-Brazos |
| Galveston | 1836 | Temporary Republic of Texas capitals |
| Harrisburg | 1836 |
| Velasco | 1836 |
| Columbia | 1836 |
| Houston | 1837 | Republic of Texas capital |
| Austin | 1839 | Republic of Texas capital; named Waterloo until 1839 |
| 1845 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Utah
Statehood in 1896 | Fillmore | 1850 | Utah Territory capitals |
| Salt Lake City | 1858 |
| 1896 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Vermont[Early History of Montpelier, Vermont. Vermont Historical Society. Accessed June 9, 2005; adapted from Esther Munroe Swift, Vermont Place-Names: Footprints of History, 1977, 1996, and Montpelier Heritage Group, Three Walking Tours of Montpelier, Vt., 1991.]
Statehood in 1791 | Windsor | 1777 | Vermont Republic capital |
| 1791 | State capitals |
| Montpelier | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Virginia[About Our Capital. Virginia General Assembly. Accessed July 20, 2006.]
Statehood in 1776 | Jamestown | 1619 | Virginia Colony capital |
| Williamsburg | 1699 | Virginia Colony capital; originally Middle Plantation |
| 1776 | State capital |
| Richmond | 1780 | State capital |
| Richmond | 1861 | Confederate States national capital, May 29, 1861 â€" April 9, 1865 |
| Danville | 1865 | Confederate States national capital, April 3, 1865 â€" April 10, 1865 |
| Richmond | 1865 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Washington[The History of Olympia. City of Olympia. Accessed June 9, 2005.]
Statehood in 1889 | Fort Vancouver | 1825 | Oregon Country capital de facto |
| Oregon City | 1848 | Oregon Territory capitals |
| Salem | 1851 |
| Olympia | 1853 | Washington Territory capital |
| 1889 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | West Virginia
Statehood in 1863 | Wheeling | 1863 | State capitals |
| Charleston | 1870 |
| Wheeling | 1875 |
| Charleston | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Wisconsin[Cravens, Stanley H. "Capitals and Capitols in Early Wisconsin". Wisconsin Blue Book, 1983-1984 edition. ]
Statehood in 1848 | Belmont | 1836 | Wisconsin Territory capital |
| Burlington | 1837 | Wisconsin Territory capital, now part of Iowa |
| Madison | 1838 | Wisconsin Territory capital |
| 1848 | - style="border-top: solid 2px #000" | Wyoming[Saban, Mary Thompson, Wyoming Sage: Brief History of Wyoming. Updated January 172004. Accessed June 10, 2005.]
Statehood in 1890 | Cheyenne | 1869 | Wyoming Territory capital |
| 1890 | }
*List of capitals of subnational entities (includes capitals of U.S. possessions)
*List of historical national capitals (e.g. of the United States)
*List of countries with multiple capitals
*Historic regions of the United States
*Political divisions of the United States*Capitals of Alabama
*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
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