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Capital Cities of the 50 States

Current capital cities listed by state. (List by state or year established)
StateList by state Capital city Established Prior capital cities
Alabama Montgomery 1846 St. Stephens (1817-1819)
Huntsville (1819-1820)
Cahaba (1820-1826)
Tuscaloosa (1826-1846)
Alaska Juneau 1900 Sitka (1884-1900)
Arizona Phoenix 1889 Fort Whipple (1864)
Prescott (1864-1867)
Tuscon (1867-1877)
Prescott (1877-1889)
Arkansas Little Rock 1821 Arkansas Post (1819-1821)
California Sacramento 1854 Temporary capitals:
Monterey, San Jose, Vallejo,
Benicia, San Francisco(1850-1854)
Colorado Denver 1867 Colorado City (1862)
Golden (1862-1867)
Connecticut Hartford 1875 Twin capitals:
Hartford & New Haven (1701-1875)
Delaware Dover 1777 New Castle (1704-1777)
Florida Tallahassee 1824 [ None ]
Georgia Atlanta 1868 Savannah (1733-1782)
Augusta (1786-1795)
Louisville (1796-1806)
Millidgeville (1807-1868)
Hawaii Honolulu 1959 [ None ]
Idaho Boise 1865 Lewiston (1863-1865)
Illinois Springfield 1839 Kaskaskia (1818-1820)
Vandalia (1820-1839)
Indiana Indianapolis 1825 Vincennes (1800-1813)
Corydon (1813-1824)
Iowa Des Moines 1857 Burlington (1838-1841)
Iowa City (1841-1857)
Kansas Topeka 1861 Fort Leavenworth (1854)
Shawnee Mission (1854-1855)
Pawnee (1855)
Lecompton (1855-1861)
Kentucky Frankfort 1793 Lexington (Temporary, 1792)
Louisiana Baton Rouge 1882 New Orleans (1812-1830)
Donaldsville (1830-1831)
New Orleans (1831-1849)
Baton Rouge (1849-1862)
New Orleans (1862-1882)
Maine Augusta 1832 Portland (1820-1832)
Maryland Annapolis 1694 St. Mary's City (1634-1694)
Massachusetts Boston 1630 [ None ]
Michigan Lansing 1847 Detroit (1837-1847)
Minnesota St. Paul 1849 [ None ]
Mississippi Jackson 1822 Natchez (1798-1802)
Washington (1802-1817)
Natchez (1817-1821)
Columbia (1821-1822)
Missouri Jefferson City 1826 St. Louis (1820)
St. Charles (1821-1826)
Montana Helena 1875 Bannack (1864-1865)
Virginia City (1865-1875)
Nebraska Lincoln 1868 Omaha (1855-1868)
Nevada Carson City 1861 [ None ]
New Hampshire Concord 1808 Portsmouth (1679-1774)
Exeter (1775-1781)
Temporary towns (1781-1808)
New Jersey Trenton 1790 Twin Capitals:
Perth Amboy & Burlington (1703-1775)
No permanent location (1775-1790)
New Mexico Santa Fe 1609 or 1610 [ None ]
New York Albany 1797 Temporary Capitals:
Kingston, Poughkeepsie & New York City (1777-1797)
North Carolina Raleigh 1792 New Bern (1771-1776)
No permanent location (1776-1792)
North Dakota Bismarck 1889 [ None ]
Ohio Columbus 1816 Chillicothe (1803-1810)
Zanesville (1810-1812)
Chillicothe (1812-1816)
Oklahoma Oklahoma City 1910 Guthrie (1890-1910)
Oregon Salem 1859 Oregon City (1849-1851)
Corvallis (1855-six months)
Salem (1851-1859)
Pennsylvania Harrisburg 1812 Chester (1681-1683)
Philadelphia (1683-1799)
Lancaster (1799-1812)
Rhode Island Providence 1900 Rotated between five counties (1663-1854)
Twin Capitals: Newport and Providence (1854-1900)
South Carolina Columbia 1790 Charleston (1670-1790)
South Dakota Pierre 1889 Yankton (1861-1883)
Bismark (1883-1889)
Tennessee Nashville 1826 Knoxville (1792-1812)
Kingston (1807 - one day)
Nashville (1812-1817)
Knoxville (1817)
Murfreesboro (1818-1826)
Texas Austin 1845 Houston (1837-1840)
Austin (1840-1842)
Washington-on-the-Brazos (1842-1845)
Utah Salt Lake City 1856 Fillmore (1851-1856)
Vermont Montpelier 1805 Numerous temporary (1777-1805)
Virginia Richmond 1780 Jamestown (1607-1699)
Williamsburg (1699-1780)
Washington Olympia 1889 [ None ]
West Virginia Charleston 1885 Wheeling (1863-1870)
Charleston (1870-1875)
Wheeling (1875-1885)
Wisconsin Madison 1838 Belmont (1836)
Burlington, now in Iowa (1837-1838)
Wyoming Cheyenne 1869 [ None ]
State Houses: America's 50 State Capitol Buildings

State Houses: America's 50 State Capitol Buildings, by Susan W. Thran. 336 pages. Publisher: Boston Mills Press (September 12, 2005)

These glorious buildings are, in the author's words, "the homes of history," where laws are passed, where democracy is enacted, where history is written. Though each state capitol bears some similarity to the other forty-nine, each in its architecture and design reflects uniquely the pride of its state, both culturally and historically.

The book also discusses important moments in the history of each building and the state itself, including: - the origin of the state's name - its capital city - when the state was admitted to the Union, and - the number of members in its legislative bodies.
Fifty State Capitols: The Architecture of Representative Government

Fifty State Capitols: The Architecture of Representative Government, by Jim Stembridge. Photography by Jim Stembridge. 128 pages. Publisher: Coho Publishing; 1st edition (June 6, 2011)

State governments, headquartered in their iconic capitol buildings, have been governing continuously—and largely democratically, peacefully, and openly—for more than two centuries, a record difficult to match in the history of civilization. Fifty State Capitols shows how the architecture of state capitols contributes to the success of representative government.

The formality, timelessness, and public grandeur of representative government are on public display at every one of America’s fifty state capitols. Fifty State Capitols describes the majesty and stateliness of each state capitol’s exterior form and selected interior details, in words and photographs, including a brief history of the building.