The Vandalia State House, built in 1836, is the fourth capitol building of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. 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 Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...

state house has been operated by the state of Illinois as a monument of Illinois'

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and de ...

years since 1933. It is located in

Vandalia, Illinois Vandalia is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 Census, the population was 7,458. Vandalia is northeast of St. Louis, on the Kaskaskia River. It served as the state capital of Illinois from 1 ...

, on the

National Road The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the Federal Government of the United States, federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Pot ...

(and

National Old Trails Road National Old Trails Road, also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway, was established in 1912, and became part of the National Auto Trail system in the United States. It was long and stretched from Baltimore, Maryland (some old maps indicate Ne ...

), and listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Earlier capitols

Admitted to the Union in 1818, Illinois quickly abandoned its first governmental center of

Kaskaskia The Kaskaskia were one of the indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. They were one of about a dozen cognate tribes that made up the Illiniwek Confederation, also called the Illinois Confederation. Their longstanding homeland was in t ...

in 1820 due to environmental threats. A second statehouse was built of lumber at the new capital of Vandalia, but it burned down after three years in 1823. The third capitol building was hastily built in 1824 and was the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's political career as a member of the

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

in 1834. Elected from

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Spr ...

, closer to the

geographic center In geography, the centroid of the two-dimensional shape of a region of the Earth's surface (projected radially to sea level or onto a geoid surface) is known as its geographic centre or geographical centre or (less commonly) gravitational centre. I ...

of Illinois, Lincoln led a central Illinois

caucus A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a specific political party or movement. The exact definition varies between different countries and political cultures. The term originated in the United States, where it can refer to a meeting ...

that called for the state government to move itself to the growing town of

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

. By the beginning of 1836, the building was structurally unsafe to the point that local assemblies refused to convene in it. In response, some townsmen wrote the then governor of Illinois Joseph Duncan about the situation, who informed them to see if the building could be repaired. After further examination of the cracked walls and sinking floor, a decision was made to tear down and rebuild a new statehouse. Construction took about four months from various regional companies and laborers. The new brick statehouse was unpainted, featuring a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ca ...

and a

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

, and cost $16,000. The new building was intentionally built with larger state office quarters, as it was deemed more important than the moving of the capitol.

Later capitols

When Lincoln and his colleagues returned to Vandalia in the fall of 1836, they saw the new "State House" waiting for them. In February 1837, the legislature voted to move the governmental center to the more populous town of Springfield. The fifth Illinois capitol, the

Old State Capitol State Historic Site The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, in Springfield, Illinois, is the fifth capitol building built for the U.S. state of Illinois. It was built in the Greek Revival style in 1837–1840, and served as the state house from 1840 to 1876.

located in Springfield, was used from 1839 to 1876. It has since been replaced by the sixth and current

Illinois State Capitol The Illinois State Capitol, located in Springfield, Illinois, houses the Illinois General Assembly, legislative and Governor of Illinois, executive branches of the government of the U.S. state of Illinois. The current building is the sixth to serv ...

Vandalia State House

The State of Illinois gave the Vandalia State House to Fayette County for use as the county

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

Porticoes A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...

were added to the courthouse in the late 1850s, which made the building a structure in the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

style. The building served as a courthouse between 1839 and 1933, when it reverted to the state. In 1933, the old courthouse became the Vandalia State House State Memorial, and an extensive interior refitting and reconstruction program began. In 1985, the building became a State Historic Site within the new

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency The Illinois Historic Preservation Division, formerly Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Illinois, and is a division of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. It is tasked with the duty of m ...

, which maintains the old state house and interprets it to its brief time as Illinois's fourth capitol building in 1836-39. Guided tours are offered, and visitors can also view the period rooms independently. File:Vandalia-Courthouse.jpg, Exterior view in 2016 File:22-07-008-lincoln.jpg, Bronze statue of

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

adjacent to the State House

References

External links

Vandalia State House
{{Protected areas of Illinois Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area County courthouses in Illinois Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois Federal architecture in Illinois Former courthouses in Illinois Illinois, Vandalia Government buildings completed in 1836 Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois History museums in Illinois Illinois State Historic Sites Museums in Fayette County, Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Fayette County, Illinois