USA > Vermont > Early history of Vermont, Vol. III > Part 21
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agreed to, but on November 6, 1812, a committee consisting of one member from each of the Coun- ties of Rutland, Addison, Chittenden, Windsor, Orange, and Caledonia, were appointed by the House to receive such proposals as might be made relating to the removal of the seat of govern- ment. This committee reported to the Legislature October 26, 1813,-
"That in case the present Legislature should think it for the interest and convenience of the state, to remove the seat of government from the town of Montpelier, the inhabitants of the city of Vergennes, in the county of Addison, propose to furnish the state with a commo- ious house in said city of Vergennes, for hold- ing their future sessions-furnished with as many good stoves as may be necessary for their convenience and accommodation: and also to pay the treasurer of the state, within sixty days, or at such other time as may be required, a sum equal to one half the present value of the state house, now erected in said Montpelier, and take a conveyance of the same with the appurte- nances thereto belonging. The said inhabitants of Vergennes secondly propose, that in lieu of said proposition and conveyance, to pay the treasurer of the state the sum of two thousand dollars as aforesaid, and leave the disposal and benefit of said buildings and premises to the state.
"The inhabitants of Windsor, in the county of Windsor, propose to furnish a suitable building for the accommodation of the Legislature, and al- so to pay to the treasurer of the state a sum equal
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to one half the present value of the state-house, at such time as may be required; and take a convey- ance of the same as aforesaid.
"The inhabitants of Burlington, in Chittenden county, propose to furnish the state with a suit- able building for the accommodation of the Legis- lature-and also to pay the treasurer of the state a sum equal to one half of the present value of the state-house in Montpelier, at such time as may be required; and take a conveyance of the same as aforesaid.
"The foregoing propositions were made by the inhabitants of the city of Vergennes, and the towns of Windsor and Burlington, on conditions that the Legislature shall, at their present session, pass a lawy establishing two of said towns as the per- manent place for holding their future sessions, al- ternately, and those places only which are desig- nated for the purpose aforesaid shall be holden to comply with the aforesaid proposals-and, should the said Legislature hereafter think proper to re- move their sessions from the aforesaid places, then and in that case it is expected and required, that the said state shall refund the aforesaid sums of money paid by the said inhabitants from the towns aforesaid."
The committee on Nov. 6, 1813, reported that in their "opinion the removal of the seat of govern- ment from Montpelier is inexpedient and im- proper:" the House accepted the report.
At the October session, 1815, another committee was appointed to inquire into the propriety of re- moving the permanent seat of the Legislature from
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Montpelier to Burlington and Windsor alternate- ly, and the Council concurred in adopting a resolu- tion with that end in view; and it was provided in one of the resolutions that, "in case of a removal to make provision for the appraisal of, and the payment for the public buildings in Montpelier agreeably to 3rd section of an act passed the Sth. day of Nov. 1805, entitled "an Act Establishing the Permanent Seat of the Legislature at Montpelier," but nothing came of it. In 1824 another attempt. was made by bill to establish the permanent seat of the Legislature at Burlington and Windsor. The bill was thoroughly debated but was dismissed by a vote of 118 to 49.
By 1831, the population of the state had so in- creased and the inadequate accommodations at the State House for the needs of the Legislature was so manifest, various propositions were made to enlarge the State House or to build a new one so as to meet the increasing wants of the Legisla- ture, and to satisfy the commendable pride of the people. On October 21, 1831, a resolution was moved authorizing the committee of Ways and Means to inquire into the expediency of appoint- ing commissioners to receive proposals from the citizens of Montpelier, Burlington, Woodstock, Windsor, Rutland, Middlebury and Randolph for the erection of a new State House; this was amend- ed so that proposals might be received from every town in the State. The resolution was agreed to. A committee was appointed who reported at the next session in 1832, that thecitizens of Burlington through their committee offered $30,000; the citi-
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zens of Montpelier through a committee offered $10,000 as one-third of the expense of building the proposed house. Two separate bills were intro- duced, one for erecting the new State House at Montpelier and the other to establish the perma- nent seat of the Legislature at Burlington; other bills were introduced with the same object in view. The House went into a committee of the whole on the subject.
On Nov. 8, 1832, a bill was passed by the House authorizing the building of a State House at Mont- pelier by a vote of 115 to S3, and it was concurred in by the Council by a vote of 10 to 2. By the act $15,000 was appropriated by the State for the pur- pose of erecting a new State House at Montpelier, provided, the inhabitants of Montpelier, or any in- dividual, shall before the first day of January 1833, give good and sufficient securety for the payment of that sum. The requirements of the act was complied with. The citizens of Montpelier raised $3,000 in excess of the $15,000 to pay for five acres of land deeded to the State for the sole purpose of erecting State buildings thereon and a common for the use of the same and the publie. Gov. Jeni- son appointed Samuel C. Crafts, Allen Wardner and George T. Hodges commissioners for the pur- pose of fixing the place in Montpelier for the erec- tion of the House, and to prepare a plan of the same; Lebbeus Edgerton was appointed superin- tendent ofconstruction. Thecommissioners and su- perintendent accompanied by the architect, Ammi B. Young, examined the State House at Concord, N. H., at Boston, Mass., and at Hartford, Conn.
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They adopted the plan of Mr. Young, selected Barre granite for the exterior walls, prescribed copper for covering the dome and roof, and recommended an improved finish that would make the entire cost $84,000, but the entire expense to the State in the end, including the grounds, was $132,077.23, mak- ing the entire cost of the buildings and grounds, in- cluding what was paid by the town of Montpelier and its citizens, the sum of $137,677.23. The work was commenced in the winter of 1833, and completed in the autumn of 1838. The building stood on an elevated site, about 325 feet north of State street, on which it fronted, and was about 35 feet above the level of it. The entrance to the grounds, and principal approach to the house from that street, was noble and commanding; the gate- ways, the fence, the grounds, and all their details were in keeping with the building and assisted in giving to it that consideration due to it as the Capitol of a flourishing, independent State.
There occurred two fatal accidents while the State House was being built. A Mr. Hutchinson, a citizen of Worcester, though not an employee of the State, was killed by the blasting of rocks for the State House, while attending to his proper bus- iness some thirty rods from the scene of blasting; his widow Eunice Hutchinson was granted some pecuniary relief by the State, as was Mrs. Joseph- ine Culver by the reason of the accidental killing of her husband. Mr. Culver, while in the service of the State in blasting rocks preparatory for the foundation for the then new State House, had been accidently killed. Vermont's second State House
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was first occupied by the Legislature in October 1836. This beautiful house after twenty-one years of use for the Legislative sessions, on the 6th day of January, 1857, took fire from one of the fur- naces under the floor of the Representative Hall, and from thence the flames ran quickly within the ceiling to the roof and dome. The weather was very cold, with a strong gale from the north west, and these unfavorable conditions, together with the location of the fire, defied all efforts to save the interior of the building, and all the contents, ex- cept the Library which wasgot out, and the books and papers in the safe of the Secretary of State's Office and in the office of the Treasurer, a few art- icles of furniture and the portrait of Washington, and the marble bust of Judge Elijah Paine, was re- duced to ruins. The granite walls which were lin- ed with brick withstood the heat so well, that the portico and outline of the walls of the entire build- ing remained standing and well preserved. E. P. Walton said, "the portico of the State House was a perfect copy to the smallest detail of the best specimen of Grecian architecture."
The destruction of the second State House ne- cessitated the building of the third one, and with the purpose of providing a new State House, Gor- ernor Ryland Fletcher issued a proclamation sum- moning the Legislature to meet at Montpelier on February 18, 1857, and it met accordingly. The question changing the location of the capitol from Montpelier to some other town in the State, as well as the subject of rebuilding the State House and furnishing therefor came under discussion and
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consideration. After a patient consideration and full discussion, the House in committee of the whole on February 26, 1857, by ballot selected Mont- pelier as the capitol. The ballots were as follows: for Montpelier 116, for Burlington 67, for Rutland 35, for Bellows Falls 8, for Middlebury 1-maj- ority for Montpelier 4. On February 27, 1857, an act was passed for rebuilding .the State House, which was concurred in by the Senate on the same day. The act was as follows:
"Ax ACT to provide for rebuilding the State House.
"It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, as follows: SEC. 1. The sum of forty thousand dollars is hereby appropriated for the purpose of rebuilding the State House, and making such repairs and improvements in and around the same, and furnishing said House, as may be necessary; and the Treasurer is hereby di- rected to pay said sum to the Committee to be appointed, as hereinafter provided, to superintend such work of rebuilding and repairing as aforesaid, out of any moneys in the treasury not otherwise appropriated. Provided, the inhabitants of Mont- pelier, or any individuals, shall, before the rising of this Legislature, give good and sufficient security to the Treasurer of this State, to pay into the treasury of the State a sum equal to the whole cost of the work mentioned in the first section of this act, one half of said sum to bepaid in one vear and the remainder in two years from the passage of this act, or on the completion of the work.
"SEC. 2. It is hereby made the duty of the Gov-
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ernor to appoint three suitable persons as a com- mittee to prepare a plan according to which such rebuilding and repairs are to be made. And it shall be the duty of said Committee to deliver one copy of the plan so prepared by them to the Secretary of State, and one to the superintending Committee, on or before the first day of April, A. D. 1857.
"SEC. 3. It is hereby made the duty of the Gov- ernor to appoint some suitable person as a Com- mittee to superintend the work mentioned in the first section of this act, agreeably to the plan adopted by the Committee, aforesaid. And such superintending Committee shall, before he enters upon the discharge of his duties, give good and sufficient bonds to the Treasurer of the State, in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, for the faith- ful discharge of his duties."
Gov. Fletcher appointed George P. Marsh of Burlington, Norman Williams of Woodstock, and John Porter of Hartford, a Committee to prepare a plan for rebuilding and repairs; Thomas E. Pow- ers of Woodstock a Committee to superintend the work. Thomas W. Silloway of Boston was em- ployed as architect until the autumn of 1857; when Joseph R. Richards of Boston succeeded him and was employed until the buildings were ready for use October 13, 1859. The cost of rebuilding and furnishing to October 22, 1860, was $140,996.63. Subsequently there was paid, under special acts, $5,400 to Superintendent Powers; and $2,000 to Larkin G. Mead for the statue of Ethan Allen- making the total cost $148,396.63. Of this sum, the State received $42,220.72 from citizens of
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Montpelier, and the balance of the total cost was paid by the State. .
This State-House is in the same vard and occu- pies the site of the second house, and is of the same order of architecture-the portico, which is the most beautiful part of the exterior, being precisely the same. The length of the central building is, however, thirteen feet eight inches greater than that of the second house, and each of the wings were lengthened twelve feet six inches, thus ad- ding about one-fourth to the commodiousness of the building without detracting from its beauty. There were other changes in the roof to each wing and in the dome, and still greater changes were made in the interior. The comparative sizes of the second and third State-House buildings will be seen by noting the fact that the exterior walls of the former house measured 600 feet in length. while the new one measured 677 feet, and the wings have an addition to their height with some other changes, making the new State-House more than one-fourth larger than the old. The library room had more than double the capacity of the old shelf room : the executive, Senatorial and Leg- islative Halls were enlarged; the offices and com- mittee rooms, with a cabinet for specimens in ge- ology and natural history were far superior. The building consists of a central building and two wings. The central building has in front a Doric portico, seventy-two feet eight inches in length by eighteen feet projection, connected with the wall in the rear of the same which forms the main front wall of the central building and is of the same
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width of the portico; the side walls are ninety-five feet eight inches long. The height of the portico to the apex is sixty feet. The wings are each fifty- two feet long in front, by fifty feet eight inches on ends, and are each forty-seven feet eight inches high from the base course to the apex of the pedi- ment, and their cornices are eight feet four inches below that of the central building. Thus giving the form of the Greek Cross to the structure.
The central building has three stories. The li- brary room was in the second story as are the Executive Chamber, the Senate and the Represent- ative Hall; the latter is in the form of the letter D, with the speaker's desk in the center of the perpen- dicular line opposite to the entrance to the hall. Vermont has a Capitol, commodious and grand in all its appointments.
As the State library increased it became evi- dent that larger accommodations for it would become necessary, that it might be consulted and used advantageously by the people of the State, especially, that portion consisting of the law li. brary. From the early days of Vermont after a Supreme Court was established until a recent date the Supreme Court under the laws of the State held a session once a year in every County in the State. While this was convenient for local litigants, it did not give the judges a suitable op- portunity to consider the cases brought before them for consideration and decision; and when the Court was composed of six judges or more only three or four of their members attended the sessions, so that the litigants did not have the
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benefit of the judgement of the full bench. To obvi- ate this difficulty, a general term of the Supreme Court was established by Statute to be held at Montpelier once a year to which important cases, in the discretion of the judges might be sent where the cases might be heard and have the considera- tion of the full bench. One reason why Montpelier was selected for holding the General Term was that the attorneys and judges might have the use of the law books in the Statelibrary and a conven- ient opportunity to consult them. The General Term of the Court was held in the County Court house of Washington County located at Montpelier. This manner of holding the Supreme Court, was not quite fair to those litigants whose cases were not sent to the General Term and did not have the benefit of the judgement of the full bench, when their cases might be just as important as those that were sent to the General Term for hearing; beside it required an extra session of the Court. It became evident to many that there should be some fixed place in the State where all cases to be heard be- fore that tribunal, should be tried. Montpelier un- doubtedly, would accommodate the Court and the people of the State, better than any other, on ac- count of its central position and because both the bench and the bar could have the benefit of con- sulting the law books in the State library.
The Legislature of Vermont, by an act ap- proved November 22, 1884, appropriated thirty- six thousand dollars for the purpose of erecting within the village of Montpelier, and upon lands of which the State had control, a building for the
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use of the State library, the Supreme Court, and the collections and library of Vermont Historical Society, and other State public uses. The act pro- vided that the building should be erected of stone or brick, substantially fire-proof. The governor, lieutenant-governor, State librarian, Frederick Billings, Redfield Proctor, H. Henry Powers and John L. Edwards were appointed commissioners, and empowered to select a site, determine upon a plan, and erect the building and appoint a person to superintend its construction.
Under that act the committee appointed to con- struct the Library and Supreme Court building proceeded to erect the same and carried the work forward to its completion. The building is 48 feet in width and 74 feet in lenght, connected at its south-east corner with the north-west corner of the State Capitol by a structure 8 feet by 23 feet. It is two stories in height: the first being 1312 feet in the clear, and the second 14 feet, except the part occupied by the library, which opens into the roof, showing the iron trusses, by which it is supported. . The first and second story floors are made level with the corresponding floors of the Capitol and connected therewith. The basement is divided in- to several rooms. The basement is reached by a flight of iron stairs leading from the front corridor and divided into a large toilet room, 12 feet by 4S feet, and fitted with the best modern im- provements, and lighted by five windows, giving ample light and ventilation. It has also a store room 12 by 48 feet, a coal and fuel room 16 by +s feet, and a boiler room 19 by 39 feet. The first
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story is entered from the west corridor of the Cap- itol, also from the outside by a pair of large doors opening into a vestibule in the structure connect- ing the library building with the west wing of the Capitol. The Court room is 26 by 49 feet; the Judges' room, connected with the Court room, is 15 by 17 feet, and a lawyers' room 13 by 28 feet, also two toilet rooms and two committee rooms.
The second story corridor is entered from the first by an iron stair-case and from the old library through double fire-proof doors. From the upper corridor a door opens into the librarian's room which is S by 14 feet. From these rooms are en- trances into the library room which is 441/2 by 50 feet. The book stacks and shelves are capable of holding about 35,000 volumes. The construction of the building is thorough and durable in every par- ticular. Great care was taken to make the build- ing as nearly fire-proof as possible. The finish and the furnishings of the building and rooms are fine and comports with the style of the building, and the furnishings adapted to the use for which the rooms were designed. It is a building, like the capitol, of which every Vermonter-might well feel proud.
"THE COAT OF ARMS
of the State is a landscape of green occupying one half of the shield : on the right and left, in the background, are high mountains of blue (Mt. Mansfield and Camel's Hump as seen from Lake Champlain), with a sky of yellow. From near the base and reaching nearly to the top of the shield arises a pine-tree of the natural color, and between
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erect sheaves of yellow, placed bendwise on the dexter side, and a red cow standing on the sinister side of the field.
CRMCY
IND UNITE
"THE CREST is a buck's head, of the natural color, cut off and placed on a scroll of blue and yellow.
"THE MOTTO AND BADGE .- On a scroll beneath the shield is the motto, 'VERMONT; FREEDOM AND UNITY.'
"THE VERMONTER'S BADGE is of two pine branches of the natural color, crossed between the shield and scroll.
"THE STATE SEAL consists of the Coat of Arms of the State, excluding the crest, scroll, and badge, with the motto in a circular border around the same.
"THE FLAG OF THE STATE consists of thirteen stripes, alternate red and white, the union being a field of blue, with a single star of white, with the Coat of Arms therein.
"THE STATUE OF ETHAN ALLEN, standing in
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the portico on the left of the front entrance to the State House, by LARKIN G. MEAD, JR., was erected in 1861, at an expense of $3,000.
"THE FIELD PIECES, standing in the portico on the right of the front entrance to the State House, were captured from the Hessians at the Battle of Bennington, Aug. 16, 1777."
By an act of the legislature, approved Novem- ber 22, 1892, it was provided that three general terms of the Supreme Court for all counties should be held on the second Tuesday of January, May and October of each year, at Montpelier, and that special terms might be there held at such other times as the Judges of the Supreme Court may ap- point; and the act provided that all causes on the docket of the court in the several counties shall be heard at said terms. And ever since the passage of said act all cases tried in the Supreme Court have been heard in said Supreme Court room in said library building.
CHAPTER XII.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF PIONEERS OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS AND VERMONT.
BENJAMIN HOUGH resided in the western part of the New Hampshire Grants, had previous to 1774 accepted, and officiated in the office of justice under the authority of New York, to the disgust and an- noyance of the Green Mountain Boys. He was arrested by them and brought before the Commit- tee of Safety at Sunderland ; he plead he was under jurisdiction of New York and was not guilty; his pleas were answered by the decree, of the conven- tion that was held by the Green Mountain Boys, which forbid all persons holding any office, civil or military, under the colony of New York. The judgment of the Committee was, that he "be taken from the bar of Committee of Safety and tied to a tree, and there on his naked back, to receive two hundred stripes ; his back being dressed, he should depart out of the district, and on return, to suffer death, unless by special leave of convention." He petitioned the New York Assembly for protection which resulted in that body asking their Governor to issue a proclamation offering a reward of fifty pounds for the apprehension and securing eight of the principal Green Mountain Boys that they called the "Bennington Mob," and to the action
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of the New York authorities a defiant reply was made.
DEACON AZARIAH ROOD came from Lanesboro, Mass., and was one of the three first settlers of Jericho in 1774. He was the first Selectman cho- sen in that town and chairman of the committee to hire the first candidate as clergyman. His loy- alty to the Grants was doubted and charges were brought against him. His accusers were zealous Whigs who would naturally judge him harshly. The record shows that the judgment that was pronounced against him was rejected and he took the oath of fidelity and kept it faithfully. He died in 1795, leaving a son, Thomas Darkely Rood, who also was a deacon.
LIEUT. MARTIN POWELL of Manchester was one of the committee of seven who issued the war- rant for the convention of January, 1776, and del- egate in that convention and the one held in 1777; Member of the first General Assembly of March, 1778, and for eight years following; Judge of Pro- bate twelve years; member of the convention of 1791, which adopted the Constitution of the Unit- ed States.
JOHN TAPLIN was one of the first settlers of Newbury. He was appointed Commissioner to administer oaths of office and Judge of Inferior Court of common pleas, March 17, 1770; and Judge again April 10, 1772. His son, John Tap- lin, Jr., was Sheriff of Gloucester county from March, 1770, until May, 1777.
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