The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

, is the fifth capitol building built for 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 sov ...

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 Rockfo ...

. It was built 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 in 1837–1840, and served as the state house from 1840 to 1876.Illinois Historic Preservation Agency ''Old State Capitol'' website
It is the site of candidacy announcements by

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 throu ...

in 1858 and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2007. It was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1961, primarily for its association with Lincoln and his political rival

Stephen Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which was ...

State House

From 1820 through 1837, the political

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the young state of Illinois was the small village of

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 ...

, in the south center of the state. 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 ...

, Vandalia was initially well-situated to fulfill its governmental role. As northern Illinois opened to settlement in the 1830s, however, public pressure grew for the capital to be relocated to a location closer to the geographic center of the state.Written history of the Old State Capitol in 1901
/ref> A caucus of nine Illinois lawmakers, including the young Whig Party lawyer Abraham Lincoln, led the effort to have the capital moved to the Sangamon County village of Springfield. Their efforts were successful in 1837, when 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 1818 ...

passed a law creating a two-year transition period with the goal of moving the capital to Springfield in 1839. Workers built a state office building, large for the time, on the central square in Springfield in 1837–40. The cost was $240,000, of which the city of Springfield paid $50,000. The structure, designed by local architect John Francis Rague and constructed of locally quarried yellow Sugar Creek

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms when ...

, contained chambers for both houses of the General Assembly, offices for the

Governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by ...

and other executive officials, and a chamber for the

Illinois Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Illinois is the state supreme court, the highest court of the U.S. state, State of Illinois. The court's authority is granted in Article VI of the current Illinois Constitution, which provides for seven justices elected from ...

. It was in this building that Lincoln served his final term as a state lawmaker in 1840–41. As a lawyer, he pleaded cases before the

state supreme court In the United States, a state supreme court (known by other names in some states) is the highest court in the state judiciary of a U.S. state. On matters of state law, the judgment of a state supreme court is considered final and binding in b ...

in this building (1841–60). In the Illinois House chamber, Lincoln made his

House Divided speech The House Divided Speech was an address given by Illinois senatorial candidate and future president of the United States Abraham Lincoln, on June 16, 1858, at what was then the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, after he had accepted the ...

in June 1858, announcing his candidacy for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

. It was to the same chamber, in May 1865, that his body was returned to lie in state, arriving from Washington, D.C., prior to final burial in Springfield's

Oak Ridge Cemetery Oak Ridge Cemetery is an American cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. The Lincoln Tomb, where Abraham Lincoln, his wife and all but one of their children lie, is here, as are the graves of other prominent Illinois figures. Thus, it is the second-m ...

.NPS Historic site nomination paper
/ref> As a result of economic growth spurred by the American Civil War and consequent

industrialization Industrialisation ( alternatively spelled industrialization) is the period of social and economic change that transforms a human group from an agrarian society into an industrial society. This involves an extensive re-organisation of an econom ...

, this fifth or ''Old State Capitol'' was, by the 1870s, too small to serve the purpose for which it had been built. Illinois built its sixth and current State Capitol building four blocks to the southwest, and the state government turned the Old State Capitol over to Sangamon County to serve 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 ...

Courthouse

From 1876 until 1966, the Old State Capitol was the county courthouse of

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 ...

. During this time the building was extensively altered. In 1839, a two-floor building had been large enough to hold the entire governmental structure of Illinois; but after continued growth in the population of Springfield and the surrounding townships, in 1898-1899 Sangamon County raised the historic structure 11 feet (3 meters), added a third floor under it, and demolished and reconfigured the interior to hold circuit court rooms and office space. In the early 1960s, the Civil War centennial rekindled interest in the historic central Springfield structure. In addition, Sangamon County's space needs had grown so urgent as to require the county to build for itself an entirely new courthouse building. The county retroceded the Old State Capitol to the state of Illinois, this time as a place of public assembly and museum of Lincoln history.

Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

In order to restore and preserve the Old State Capitol, which had been extensively altered during its life as a courthouse, workers completely dismantled it, stone by stone, and rebuilt it. The public areas of the Old State Capitol were reconstructed to resemble the appearance of the building in 1860, when Lincoln last saw the capitol prior to his departure to Washington. The state also excavated the plaza under and around the Old State Capitol to construct an extensive office and parking complex, which later served as the headquarters of the

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 ...

. The reconstruction work was carried out in 1966–69, and the rebuilt House Chamber was available for the state's Constitutional Convention to use in 1970. Flickr Obama Springfield 01

The restored Old State Capitol continues to be used for ceremonial functions. In February 2007 then-U.S. Senator Barack Obama officially announced his candidacy for

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United St ...

at this location, and in August 2008 he formally introduced his vice-presidential candidate, Joe Biden, with the building as a backdrop. Visitors can tour the capitol on their own or take 30-minute guided tours.

In popular culture

A commemorative one-cent piece was minted for general circulation in 2009 to celebrate Lincoln's work as a lawyer. It used the Old State Capitol, which incorporated a courtroom for the Illinois Supreme Court where Lincoln pleaded key cases in his legal career, as a backdrop. The Old State Capitol grounds are used as the venue for the Springfield Old Capitol Art Fair, an annual May festival.

References

External links

Old State Capitol State Historic Site
- Illinois Historic Preservation Agency {{coord, 39, 48, 04, N, 89, 38, 55, W, type:landmark_region:US-IL, display=title

Illinois State Historic Sites Law museums in Illinois Museums in Springfield, Illinois Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois Government buildings completed in 1840 Former courthouses in Illinois Government of Illinois National Register of Historic Places in Springfield, Illinois Government buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Illinois National Historic Landmarks in Illinois