Mental Floss

Can You Name the Original Capitals of These 18 States?

A number of states entered the union with different capital cities. How many of them do you know?
Bymentalfloss .com|
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania today—but it hasn’t always been.
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania today—but it hasn’t always been. | Walter Bibikow/Stone/Getty Images (capitol building), Justin Dodd/Mental Floss (quiz)

For many, state capitals are little more than the answer to a trivia question. But these hubs serve an important purpose: They centralize state government and legislative offices in the hopes of fostering better communication. And it wasn’t necessarily the most well-known or populous city that got the honor; capitals were typically chosen due to their geographical advantages, and sometimes because they hosted popular state landmarks.

But local governments didn’t always get it right the first time. Take a look at 18 states that originally had different capitals and see if you can name them in the quiz below.

While these states had second thoughts for a variety of reasons—some original capitals were simply too difficult to travel to via horse and buggy—other states dug their heels in. Alaska’s capital is currently Juneau, a 3255-square-mile behemoth that’s actually larger than the entire state of Delaware. Because it’s so hard to access (you need to take a boat or plane) several initiatives have been brought over the years to try and get the capital moved to a more convenient location. It hasn’t happened yet.

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