Here’s a trivia question for you.
How many cities within the current 50 states of the United States have been national capitols? Think about it for a minute before you click the “Read More Here” tab.
The latest national capitol building
OK, what’s your guess?
You’re Right! The answer is 33.
These cities include locations where the Continental Congress met, the Confederate Capitols, the Republics of Vermont, Texas and California, along with smaller and unrecognized independent countries within American borders.
This information is from Wikipedia and it is useful in impressing your girlfriend, it will also help you clear the room in order to get rid of those who just won’t leave your party and it will help you get that elusive Trivial Pursuit Trophy that you are pining after.
And here they are. Duplicates aren’t included
Capitols of the United States
From 1774 to 1800, Congress met in numerous locations; therefore, the following cities can be said to have once been the United States Capitol.
The Continental Congress
1 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: September 5, 1774 to December 12, 1776
2 Baltimore, Maryland: December 20, 1776 to February 27, 1777
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 4, 1777 to September 18, 1777
3 Lancaster, Pennsylvania: September 27, 1777 (one day)
4 York, Pennsylvania: September 30, 1777 to June 27, 1778
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: July 2, 1778 to March 1, 1781
Articles of Confederation
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: March 1, 1781 to June 21, 1783
5 Princeton, New Jersey: June 30, 1783 to November 4, 1783
6 Annapolis, Maryland: November 26, 1783 to August 19, 1784
7 Trenton, New Jersey: November 1, 1784 to December 24, 1784
8 New York City, New York: January 11, 1785 to Autumn 1788
United States Constitution
New York City, New York: March 4, 1789 to December 5, 1790
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: December 6, 1790 to May 14, 1800
9 Washington, D.C.: November 17, 1800 to present
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:
10 Westminster, 1777
11 Windsor, 1777–1791
Kingdom and Republic of Hawaii
Prior to becoming a territory of the United States in 1898, Hawaii was an independent nation. Three cities served as its capital:
12 Kailua-Kona. Served as the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1795-1820.
13 Lahaina. Served as the capitol of the Kingdom of Hawaii, 1820–1845.
14 Honolulu. Served as the capitol 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 7, 1898.
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 capitol:
15 Washington (now Washington-on-the-Brazos), 1836
16 Harrisburg, 1836
17 Galveston, 1836
18 Velasco, 1836
19 West Columbia, 1836
20 Houston, 1837–1839
21 Austin, 1839–1845
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America had three capitols during its existence.
22 Montgomery, Alabama, February 4, 1861 – May 29, 1861
23 Richmond, Virginia, May 6, 1861 (declared) – April 3, 1865
24 Danville, Virginia, April 3, 1865 – April 10, 1865
The first Confederate capital was established on February 4, 1861 in Montgomery Alabama and remained there until it was moved to Richmond after Virginia joined the Confederacy on May 23, 1861. As the Army of Northern Virginia was pushed farther south and on April 2, 1865 the Capitol was moved to Danville, Virginia.
Unrecognized national Capitols
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.
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.
25 Jonesborough, Tennessee, 1784-?
26 Greeneville, Tennessee, 1785?-?
State of Muskogee
The State of Muskogee was a short-lived Native American state in Florida. It consisted of several tribes of Creeks and Seminoles. It existed from 1799 to 1803. It had one capitol:
27 Mikasuke, 1799-1803
Republic of West Florida
The Republic of West Florida was a short-lived republic consisting of parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and Alabama.
28 St. Francisville, Louisiana, 1810
Republic of Indian Stream
The Republic of Indian Stream was an independent nation within the present state of New Hampshire.
29 Pittsburg, New Hampshire, 1832-1835
Republic of the Rio Grande
The Republic of the Rio Grande was an independent nation including land now in Texas and Mexico.
30 Laredo, Texas, January 7, 1840-January 28, 1840
31 Guerrero, Tamaulipas, January 28, 1840-March 1840
32 Victoria, Texas, March 1840-November 6, 1840
California Republic
Before being annexed by the United States in 1848 and after 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 capitol of the California Republic:
33 Sonoma, 1846
In addition to those 33 national capitols, there have been 5 national capitols in territories controlled by the United States.
Insular area capitols
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 capitols are listed below.
| Capitols of United States Insular Areas | |||
| Insular area | Date | Capitol | Notes |
| American Samoa | 1899 | Pago Pago | De facto capitol of the Territory of American Samoa. |
| 1967 | Fagatogo | Official seat of government stated in the territory’s constitution. | |
| Guam | 1898 | Hagåtña | Dededo is the area’s largest village. |
| Northern Mariana Islands | 1947 | Saipan | |
| Puerto Rico | 1898 | San Juan | The city of San Juan was originally called Puerto Rico while the island was called San Juan Bautista. |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 1917 | Charlotte Amalie | |
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