Vandalia State House State Historic Site (Illinois)

Vandalia State House State Historic Site (Illinois)

Infobox_nrhp | name = Vandalia Statehouse



caption = |Madonna of the Trail statue in front of the Vandalia State House.
locator_x =
locator_y =
location = Vandalia, Fayette County, Illinois, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 58
lat_seconds = 5
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 89
long_minutes = 6
long_seconds = 7
long_direction = W
built = 1836
added = January 21, 1974 [ [http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000066 NRIS Database] , National Register of Historic Places, retrieved Jan 2007.]
governing_body = State of Illinois
The Vandalia State House State Historic Site, built in 1836, is the fourth capitol building of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is also the oldest capitol building in Illinois to survive, as the first, second, and third capitol buildings have all disappeared. The brick Federal style state house has been operated by the state of Illinois as a monument of Illinois pioneer years since 1933. It is located in Vandalia, Illinois, on the National Road.

Earlier capitols

The Vandalia State House, Illinois's fourth capitol, was built when Illinois was in its eighteenth year as a state. Admitted to the Union in 1818, Illinois quickly abandoned its first governmental center of Kaskaskia, Illinois, and its capitol building (active in 1818-1820). A second "state house" was built of lumber at the new capital of Vandalia, but it burned to the ground after only three years (1820-1823).

The third capitol building (1824-1836), also built in Vandalia, was the scene of most of the service of Abraham Lincoln as a member of the Illinois state legislature. Lincoln did not, however, become a beloved figure in Vandalia. Elected from Sangamon County, closer to the geographic center of Illinois, Lincoln led a central Illinois caucus that called for the state government to move itself to the growing town of Springfield, Illinois.

As a result of this threat, Vandalia businessmen took action. In 1836, when the legislature was in recess, they abruptly tore down the third Capitol building and built a larger fourth one on the same public square. The cost of the new brick building was $16,000. Vandalia hoped that the new Vandalia State House would be so nice to work in that it would encourage the state government to remain in town.

Later capitols

When Lincoln and his colleagues returned to Vandalia in the fall of 1836, they saw a new "State House" waiting for them. They were not impressed. In February 1837, the legislature, under pressure from Lincoln and his colleagues, moved the governmental center to Springfield.

The fifth Illinois capitol, a Springfield building now called the Old State Capitol State Historic Site, served that purpose in 1839-1876. It was then replaced by the sixth and final Illinois State Capitol, which was occupied in 1876 and continues in operation today.

Vandalia State House

The state of Illinois gave the Vandalia State House (in operation in 1836-1839, only three years) to Vandalia's county, Fayette County, for use as the county courthouse. Fayette County taxpayers paid to build the handsome porticoes added to the courthouse in the late 1850s, which made the building a structure in the Greek Revival style. The courthouse served the people of Fayette County in 1839-1933, when it reverted to the state.

In 1933, the old courthouse became the Vandalia State House State Memorial, and an extensive program of interior refitting and reconstruction began. In 1985 the building became a Historic Site within the new Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (IHPA). The IHPA maintains the old state house and interprets it to its brief time as Illinois's fourth capitol building in 1836-39.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.state.il.us/HPA/hs/Vandalia.htm State of Illinois]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Illinois) — Illinois State Capitol U.S. National Register of Historic Places Illinois State Historic Site …   Wikipedia

  • Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site — The Lincoln Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site is a historic brick building built in 1841 in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located at 6th and Adams Streets in Springfield, Illinois. The law office has been restored and is operated by the …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois State Capitol — Infobox nrhp | name =Illinois State Capitol nrhp type = nhl caption = The Sixth Illinois Capitol location= Springfield, Illinois locmapin = Illinois area = built =1868 architect= Piquenard,Alfred H.; Et Al. architecture= Second Empire added =… …   Wikipedia

  • Illinois Historic Preservation Agency — The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois. It is tasked with the duty of maintaining most State owned historic sites within Illinois, and maximizing their educational and recreational value… …   Wikipedia

  • Vandalia, Illinois — Geobox|Settlement name = Vandalia native name = other name = category = City etymology = official name = motto = nickname = image caption = symbol = country = United States state = Illinois region = Fayette region type = County district =… …   Wikipedia

  • Vandalia (Illinois) — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Vandalia. 38° 58′ 05″ N 89° 06′ 07″ W …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Illinois — /il euh noy , noyz /, n. 1. a state in the central United States: a part of the Midwest. 11,418,461; 56,400 sq. mi. (146,075 sq. km). Cap.: Springfield. Abbr.: IL (for use with zip code), Ill. 2. a river flowing SW from NE Illinois to the… …   Universalium

  • Illinois — This article is about the U.S. state of Illinois. For other uses, see Illinois (disambiguation). State of Illinois …   Wikipedia

  • List of National Historic Landmarks in Illinois — There are 84 National Historic Landmarks in Illinois, including Eads Bridge which spans into Missouri and which the National Park Service credits to Missouri s National Historic Landmark list. This list include not only those on the National… …   Wikipedia

  • Springfield, Illinois — Geobox City name = City of Springfield native name = other name = other name1 = category = City image size = image caption = The Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. flag type = flag size = symbol type = Seal symbol = Seal of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”