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Show I FIRST STATE CAPITOL. H BIRTHPLACE OF WISCONSIN IS H STILL STANDING. H Erection of Imposing Structure at Hi Madlion Recall Humble Dulldlng H Where Territorial Admlnls- fl tratlon Wat Organized. H Madison. Wis. Wisconsin's now H rnpltol will bo n sumptuous structuro H compared with tlio building ttio Btnto B fnthors occupied when thoy gathored H In lcglslattvo session In 1818. Tho do H vclopment of tho great couimonwcalth 1 Is shown In tho required ampllllcatlon H of Its stntehouso. Tho leglslnturo or B Wisconsin hns far outgrown tho mod- H ost llttlo building which at tho tlmo of M Its orectlou wiih considered tho finest H of Its kind. It has demands thut tho H enlarged cnpliol could not meet, nml m so tho old will give placo to tho now. M Work on tho now Btructuro la being H rapidly pushed, and nt tho meeting of H Dccomber 27 specimens of tho best H grades of building matorlal for tho H outsldo wallR worn subtnlttod by 1 Architect 1'osL H In tho early days ninny towns woro H anxious to havn tho capltol building H located within their limits, nnd many H a bitter contest was wngod over Its H location. Nono of tho sovontcon nppll- H cants succeeded In socurlng It. A H town was Inld out especially adaptod B to Us needs, a bIIo unrivaled In not- Ural beauty by any Wisconsin town. B Tho location. of tho prosont stato 1 capltol was selected by James D. Doty H in 183C, and In December of that year BH when tho legislature convened nt Dol- bVJ inont, an act was passed to establish VJ Uio BtatehoiiHo at Madison. Thoro 1 woro many reasons why this slto was H selected, and chief among thorn was H tho central location. Mllwnukco, Oroon H Day and tho lead mining region In tho H southwestern part of tho stato woro 1 tho principal centers of immigration H and of activity, bo In selecting Mndl- m son tho distance from any ono of tho H points would bo about equal. Tho H Wisconsin territory had belonged to H tho Michigan tract. It was partitioned H and organized nt Mineral Point July H , 4, 183C, Into tho territory of Wlscon- H sin. Tho first leglRlatlvo body mot at H Delmont and thoro wns a long struggle M as to whero tho capltol of tho now H stato would bo permanently located. H Seventeen towns desired it and each H had Inducements to off or. Fond du H Lac, Dubuque, Portago, Helena, Mil- H waukoo. Dnclno, Ilolmont, Minora) H Point, Oreon Day, Plattovlllo, Cassvlllo, H nellovlow, Koshkonong, Wlsconslnap- H oils, Wisconsin City, Poru and Modi- H ion. Bomo of thoso towns woro, as 1 yot, not laid out, but their promotors 1 had hopes for thorn If tho capltol was H erected at tho point advocated. bsjm It wafl decided that tho permanent VQHKV structuro would .ha at Madison and n commission consisting of James D. Doty, A. A. IHrd and John O'Nell was appointed by tho government to begin work at once. On July 4, 183J. tho cornerat'ino wns laid with ceremonies appropriate to the occasion. Tho legislature leg-islature of Wisconsin met for the first time nt MndlRon In 18118, but, as tho capltol building was not at that tlmo in a suitable condition for occupntlon tho session was held In thobnsomont of tho American house, whero tho nn-mini nn-mini messago of tho governor, Henry Dodge, was delivered. During 183C and 1837 tho national government appropriated ap-propriated $10,000 for tho capltol building, Dano county $4,000, nnd tho territorial legislature snout $16,000, making tho couiploto cost $00,000. Tho building, when finished, wns a substantial substan-tial structuro, which In architectural I - .. -- J First Legislative Hall of Wisconsin. design nnd convenlcnco of arrange-mont arrange-mont compared favorably with cnpl-, tola of tho adjacent states. Tho building was enlarged from tlmo to tlmo to provide for tho growing wants of tho Btnto. In 1004 a portion of tho north wing and tho grcator part of tho Interior of tho capltol was destroyed by flro. Tho Drat legislative hall of Wisconsin Wiscon-sin Is still stnndlng and Micro aro ninny earnest people In tho stato who nro pleading for Its restoration, or at least, to havo it saved from tho dcio-cratlon dcio-cratlon it la at piesent subjected to. At tho tlmo when tho first legislative body sat In conference, thu building wns a Btory ami a half framo houso, bnttlomont fronted. It was at tho meeting In this humblo placo that tho territorial administration was organized, or-ganized, tho torrltory divided into counties, county Beats established, ways nnd moans of borrowing monoy discussed. This birthplace of tho gront stato of Wisconsin must always bo of Interest toMUi citizens, who can novor forgot tho wisdom and forethought of tho pioneers who, meeting to establish a great commonwealth, Inld tho foundations foun-dations for tho good of postorlty. Tho old building nt Ilolmont is perhaps nothing moro to many than any othor old landmark, hut to tho earnest-minded earnest-minded it stands for something moro. ;sbe- ii |