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 sove ...
of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. 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
The National Road (also known as the Cumberland Road) was the first major improved highway in the United States built by the federal government. Built between 1811 and 1837, the road connected the Potomac and Ohio Rivers and was a main tran ...
(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 N ...
), 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 ...
.
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 ...
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 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 S ...
, 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.
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 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, fro ...
, 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 located in Springfield, was used from 1839 to 1876. It has since been replaced by the sixth and current
Illinois State Capitol.
Vandalia State House
The State of Illinois gave the Vandalia State House to
Fayette County for use as the county
courthouse.
Porticoes 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 a ...
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.
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