Wisconsin State Capitol!

What Is the Wisconsin State Capitol?

It’s the Wisconsin State Capitol building!

What Makes It Historical?

Madison became the capital of Wisconsin Territory on November 28, 1836, named by its founder, James Duane Doty, for late president, James Madison! It was ideally located between the big city of Milwaukee and the strategic river city of Prairie du Chien, and with no time wasted, construction of the first capitol buildng got underway in 1837. It lasted for twenty years as Wisconsin became a state in 1848 and the needs of the government grew and grew, bringing about the second version of the capitol in 1869! Sadly, Capitol 2 burned to the ground on February 27, 1904, despite its state-of-the-art fire suppression system! With it went Wisconsin’s Civil War records and “Old Abe,” the taxidermied eagle of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry!

It took another year to plan a third, and hopefully ultimate, capitol building, this time with the New York firm of George B. Post and Sons at the helm! However, there was a catch! With the sudden loss of all government facilities, construction had to be done in five separate phases from 1906 to 1917 in order to save money and get office spaces back up and running again! Though this capitol building got neither a cornerstone at groundbreaking nor a ceremony at dedication (deferred until 1965), today, it boasts the nation’s largest dome by volume, made entirely of White Bethel Vermont granite! It’s also topped by a gilded statue of “Wisconsin” by Daniel Chester French of Lincoln Memorial fame!

How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?

Become a member of the Wisconsin Historical Society!
Donate to the Wisconsin Historical Society!
Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!