Former US State Capitals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Montgomery

Alabama has had four different political capitals. The territorial capital was St. Stephens in 1817. A state convention in Huntsville named Cahaba as the first state capital in 1820. From 1826 to 1846 Tuscaloosa served as capital before it was moved to Montgomery. The reason for the final move was that Alabama's growth, especially in the eastern part of the state, made it advantageous to move the capital to a more centrally located city.

Tuscaloosa, as of 2017, was the fifth largest city in Alabama with a population of around 100,000 people. It is also the home of the University of Alabama.

Answer: Sacramento

Monterrey had been the capital city of California when it was part of Mexico. The convention to draft the state convention was held in Monterrey and named San Jose as the state capital. San Jose held this position from 1849 to 1851. Vallejo and Benicia served that role until Sacramento became the capital in 1854.

As of 2017, San Jose was the third largest city in California with a population over one million and was the tenth largest city in the U.S. It is in the center of the Silicon Valley.

Answer: Jackson

Natchez was the oldest and largest city in the Mississippi Territory, which also included Alabama. It was capital of the territory from 1798 to 1802 when the capital was moved to nearby Washington. When Mississippi became a state in 1817, Natchez was selected as the first state capitol until it was moved to Jackson in 1821. Attempts were made in 1828 and 1829, which failed narrowly, to move the capital to Clinton.

Natchez was a prominent city before the Civil War; however, it now has a population of around 15,000 people and is the 25th largest city in Mississippi.

Answer: Concord

Exeter, New Hampshire had been the home of the rebellious Provincial Congress in 1774. It was named the first state capital, an honor it held for 14 years. In 1816 Concord, now the third largest city in New Hampshire, was named as capital.

Answer: Dover

New Castle was capital of the state of Delaware during colonial times until 1777 when it was moved to Dover due to its central location and safety from British raiders. New Castle has declined to a population of about 5,000 people. Originally it was an important point for transporting goods from the Delaware River to Chesapeake Bay, but fell in importance when the railroads bypassed it.

Answer: Columbus

Ohio has had three capital cities. Chillicothe was the capital from 1803 to 1810. The capital was then moved to Zanesville for two years, as part of a state legislative compromise to get a bill passed. The capital was then moved back to Chillicothe, which was the capital from 1812 to 1816. Finally, the capital was moved to Columbus to have it near the geographic center of the state.

Zanesville has suffered from declining industries and now has only 25,000 residents.

Answer: Oklahoma City

Oklahoma's territorial and first state capital was located in Guthrie. It was the capital from 1889-1910 when voters opted to move the capital to Oklahoma City.

When Oklahoma had been opened to American settlers during the "Land Run of 1889", Guthrie was a railroad stop. 10,000 people settled in the town almost overnight, making it the largest city of the territory. It was soon eclipsed in importance by Oklahoma City, which was at a junction of several railroads and had become a major meat packing center. Local business leaders campaigned to move the state capital there and were successful in a ballot in 1910.

Guthrie prospered when it was the capital and administrative center for Oklahoma. However, that prosperity ended and the city's population is back down to about 10,000 people,

Answer: Harrisburg

Philadelphia had been the original seat of government for the colony and state of Pennsylvania. In 1799 the legislature moved the state capital to Lancaster, citing reasons from disease to population growth. In 1810 the legislature moved the capital to Harrisburg.

Lancaster is currently the eighth largest city in Pennsylvania with a population of about 60,000. Interestingly, Lancaster was capital for the US for one day in 1777 after Philadelphia had been captured.

Answer: Nashville

Six cities have served as capital of the state of Tennessee or its earlier manifestations as the State of Franklin and the Territory of Tennessee.

Jonesborough (1784) and Greeneville (1785 - 1788) were capitals of the settled region that called itself the State of Franklin, although it was not yet part of the United States.

Knoxville was capital of the Tennessee Territory (1792 - 1796) and was the state capital from 1796 until 1812 and again from 1817 until 1818.

Kingston was capital for one day in 1807 and Murfeesboro served as capital from 1818 until 1826.
Nashville had been state capital from 1812 until 1817 and was again named capital in 1826 and has remained so since then.

Knoxville currently is the third largest city in Tennessee and home of the University of Tennessee. It also hosted the 1982 World's Fair.

Answer: Montpelier

The state constitution of Vermont was written in the town of Windsor, which served as the first state capital in 1791. The state legislature met in Windsor, Bennington, and Rutland in its early years. In 1810 the legislature voted for a permanent capital in the centrally located city of Montpelier.

Montpelier, with a population of fewer than 8000 people at the time of the 2010 census, was the smallest state capital in the U.S. Windsor is even smaller with a population of less than 4,000.

Answer: Richmond

Williamsburg was the seat of the House of Burgesses of the colony of Virginia from 1705 until 1779. The capital was moved after the original capital in Jamestown burned down, and the legislature wanted to moved inland. In 1779 the legislature moved the capital further westward, where more of the population was living, to Richmond. This kept the capital on a deep river port, but one further from potential raids by the British.

Williamsburg is now a small city of approximately 14,000 people. It is a notable tourist site for its colonial buildings and is the home of William and Mary University.

Answer: Baton Rouge

The capital of the state of Louisiana was in New Orleans from the time it was a US Territory from 1703 until it was moved to Donaldson in 1831 for a short time. It returned to New Orleans again until 1849, when Baton Rouge was selected. Baton Rouge has remained the capital city, except for 1862 to 1865 when the capital was moved to Opelousas and then Shreveport after Union troops had captured both Baton Rouge and New Orleans.

Answer: Phoenix

The Arizona territorial capital was originally in Tucson. When the territory attempted to secede during the Civil War, the federal government redrew the territorial boundaries and named Prescott as capital. After the Civil War, the capital returned to Tucson, since it was the most developed area. It 1879 it was moved back to Prescott again. Finally, the more central location of Phoenix was chosen as the final territorial and later state capital.

Prescott is now a city of about 40,000 people and is a popular tourist stop, noted for its Victorian homes.

Answer: Lansing

Detroit served as capital of the Michigan Territory from 1828 until Michigan became a state in 1837, and for the first ten years of statehood. In 1847 the legislature decided to move the capital away from the Canadian border due to perceived threats of attack, to promote growth in the center of the state, and to make the capital more accessible. Lansing was selected as a compromise site and has remained the capital since then.

Answer: Providence

Rhode Island rotated its legislative sessions among Providence, Newport, Bristol, East Greenwich, and South Kingstown. In 1854, the sessions were eliminated in the cities other than Providence and Newport, and Newport was finally dropped in 1900.

Newport is famous for its historic mansions, dating from the Gilded Age in American history. It is also well-known for its sailing and hosted many of the America's Cup racing challenges.