USA > Vermont > Records of the Governor and Council of the State of Vermont, Vol. V > Part 58
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AN ACT authorizing the building of a State-House at Montpelier.
SEC. 1. It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, that the sum of fifteen thousand dollars be, and the same is, hereby appropriated for the purpose of erecting a new State-House at Montpelier, and the treasurer of the State is hereby directed to pay said sum to the committee to be appointed as hereinafter provided, to super- intend the building of said State-House, out of any money in the treas- ury not otherwise appropriated. Provided, the inhabitants of Montpe- lier, or any individuals, shall, before the first day of January in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, give good and sufficient security, to the treasurer of this State, to pay into the treasury of this State the sum of fifteen thousand dollars; one half of said sum to be paid in one year and the remainder in two years from the passage of this act; which said last mentioned sum shall also be paid to said committee and expended for the purpose aforesaid.
SEC. 2. It is hereby further enacted, that it shall be the duty- of the Governor of this State to appoint three suitable persons as a committee to fix upon a place in Montpelier for the erection of said State-House, and to prepare a plan for the same; and it shall be the duty of said com- mittee to deliver one copy of their proceedings, together with a plan of said State-House, to the Secretary of State, and one to the superintend- ing committee, on or before the first day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.
SEC. 3. It is hereby further enacted, that it shall be the duty of the Governor of this State also to appoint some suitable person or persons as a committee to superintend the erection of said State-House, agreca- bly to the plan adopted by the committee aforesaid.
SEC. 4. It is hereby further enacted, that the superintending commit- tee shall, before they enter upon the discharge of their duties, give good and sufficient bonds to the treasurer of the State, in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, for the faithful discharge of their duties.
Passed Nov. 8, 1832.2
The sum of fifteen thousand dollars, required of Montpelier by the foregoing act, was subscribed and paid into the State treasury under the following terms of subscription:
In consideration that the Legislature of the State of Vermont will permanently establish the seat of Government at Montpelier, by erect- ing a durable State-House, we, the undersigned, do hereby promise and agree to pay the Treasurer of said State, the several sums annexed to our names respectively, in the following manner, viz. one half within
1 Printed Assembly Journal, of 1832, pp. 56, 74-5, 88, 93, 97, 108, 122-3, 125, 132, 137-140, 146, 160; Ms. Council Journal, Vol. 11, p. 499; State Journal, and also Vt. Patriot & State Gazette, of Nov. 12, 1832.
' Printed Acts of 1832, p. 17.
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Appendix C.
one year and the remainder within two years from the passage of an act for the purpose aforesaid.
The subscriptions secured by the committee of the citizens of Mont- pelier amounted to eighteen thousand dollars, and the excess of three thousand dollars, beyond the sum required by the act, was paid for five acres of land deeded to the State " for the sole purpose of erecting State Buildings and a common for the use of the same and the public, to have and to hold the" "described premises with the appurtenances thereof, to the said State of Vermont for their own use and benefit forever, for the use and object as above specified."1 There were other expenses incurred: in removing the Court House, which was borne by Washing- ton County, and in removing a new brick school-house and rebuilding it, costing six hundred dollars, which was paid by the school-district. The sum paid by citizens of Montpelier and the immediate vicinity, for the second State-House, was therefore eighteen thousand and six hun- dred dollars, exclusive of the land decded by Thomas Davis in 1808, and also of the sum paid by the County for the removal of the Court-House.
Gov. Jenison appointed SAMUEL C. CRAFTS of Craftsbury, ALLEN WARDNER of Windsor, and GEORGE T. HODGES of Rutland, to be com- missioners for the purpose of fixing the place in Montpelier for the erection of the State-House, and to prepare a plan of the same; and LEBBEUS EDGERTON of Randolph to be the superintendent of construc- tion. The commissioners and superintendent, accompanied by archi- tect AMMI B. YOUNG, examined the State-Houses of New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and then adopted the plan of Mr. Young, selected Barre granite for the exterior walls, prescribed copper for covering the dome and roof, and an interior finish so that the esti- mated cost would not exceed sixty thousand dollars, but recommended that the legislature adopt an improved finish which would increase the cost to eighty-four thousand dollars. The legislature made repeated appropriations for this purpose, amounting in all to $133,500, including the $15,000 paid into the treasury by the committee of citizens of Mont- pelier. The balance of appropriations, over the amount expended by the State, was $1,422.27, making the cost of the buildings, grounds, fences, furniture, &c. $132,077.23. To this sum should be added $3,600 paid by citizens of Montpelier for land and clearing the same, and at least $2,000 for the land decded by Davis in 1808, that being the esti- mated value in 1808-making the total actual cost $137,677.23. The work was commenced in the winter of 1833, and completed in the au- tumn of 1838. From 1833 to the autumn of 1836, LEBBEUS EDGERTON was the superintendent, and for the two scars succeeding, the duties of superintendent were assigned by the legislature to AMMI B. YOUNG, who had been the architect from the beginning.2
1 Sec Montpelier Land Records, Book S, pp. 453 to 456, for the deeds.
2 AMMI B. YOUNG, born at Lebanon, N. H., in 1797, won in this work high reputation for skill as an architect and constructor, and so com-
438
Appendix C.
The following description, by Rev. Zadock Thompson of Burlington, was made on the authority of Mr. Young:
The building stands on an elevated site, about 325 feet north of State street, on which it fronts, and is about 35 feet above the level of it. The entrance to the grounds, and principal approach to the house from that street, is noble and commanding; the gateways, the fence, the grounds, and all their details are in keeping with the building and assist in giv- ing to it that consideration it should have, as the capitol of a flourish- ing, independent state. The building is very neat and simple in its de- sign; a pure architectural character is preserved throughout; this, com- bined with the convenience of interior arrangement, and the perma- nency of its construction, renders it a structure of more merit than any other in New England .? It is in form of a cross, shewing in front a centre 72 feet [and S inches] broad, ornamented with a projecting por- tico of six columns, six feet in diameter, of the Grecian Doric order, with its proper entablature and pediment extending the whole width of the centre, and two wings cach 39 feet, making the whole length 150 feet. The centre is 100 feet deep, and the wings 50 feet deep. To the apex of the pediment of the portico in the centre is 44 [60] feet, and to the top of the dome 100 feet from the ground. The wings are 36 feet high. The walls of the exterior are of a beautiful colored granite, which shews the architectural details to great advantage, and the roof and dome are covered with copper.
The interior is entered in front from the portico, through a door eight feet wide, into the entrance hall 32 by 38 feet, 14 feet high, the ceiling of which is supported by 6 Ionic columns, 18 inches in diameter; there is also an entrance from each end and rear of the building, communi- cating with the entrance hall, by corridors of proper width. In the lower story are offices for the Secretary of State, the State Treasurer, . the Auditor of Accounts, and the Engrossing Clerk, the two first hav- ing fire-proof safes attached to them. There are also in this story eleven committee rooms, and two rooms for furnaces to heat the halls, &c. in the principal story. To the right and left from the entrance hall. two spacious stairways lead to two circular halls or landings in the sec- ond or principal story. These halls are 20 feet in diameter and 20 feet high, with domical ceilings, communicate with the senate chamber and its gallery, the vestibule to the representatives' hall, the governor's room, the library, and several rooms for the officers of the senate &c .; and they also communicate by stairways and galleries with the gallery to the representatives' hall and committee rooms in the attic. The ves- tibule to the representatives' hall is 18 by 36 feet and 18 feet high, and is square in plan. The representatives' hall is in form of the letter D, is 57 by 67 feet and 31 feet high, with domical ceilings. The senate chamber is elliptical on the plan, 30 by 44 feet and 22 feet high, with domical ceilings. The governor's room is square, 20 by 24 feet, 18 feet high. The library is 18 by 36 feet, 18 feet high, with gallery and shelves capable of holding 10,000 volumes. All the above rooms are finished in a neat and appropriate manner, the walls have an agreeable architect- ural ordonnance of columns, pilasters, niches, autac, &c. and their ceil-
mended himself by his probity and modesty as to win influential friends, through whom he speedily became known to the national government, and was employed by it in the construction of public buildings for many years. IIe died in the city of Washington on the 13th of March 1874.
2 Meaning in 1842.
.
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Appendix C.
ings are panneled in the simple and imposing style of Grecian architec- turc. From the peculiar profile of the mouldings of the details of the ceilings, and the curves of the arches, the most beautiful gradations of light and shade are produced, from the brightest light to the deepest shade, so combined as to give the greatest possible effect and beauty to the whole. The rooms are all furnished in a neat and appropriate man- ner, with their proper furniture. The representatives' hall has hard wood desks and seats for the members, and the officers their proper desks and chairs. The governor's room and senate chamber are fur- nished with black walnut tables and chairs: and everything is in perfect keeping throughout the house.1
Jan. 6 1857, the second State-House took fire from one of the furnaces under the floor of the Representatives' 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 northwest, 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 except the Li- brary, which was got out, and the books and papers in the safe of the Secretary of State's office, a few articles of furniture, and the portrait of Washington, was reduced to a heap of ruins."? The exterior walls of granite, which were lined with brick, withstood the heat so well that the portico and outline of the walls of the entire building were well pre- served; and being divested of the dome, which does not belong to the Doric order of architecture, the exceeding beauty of the portico and centre building was more clearly discernible than ever before. To pre- serve a memorial of that beautiful house, the editor of this volume caused the same to be photographed and engraved on wood. The en- graver faithfully copied the photograph in the wood-cut opposite to page 442, but lest those not familiar with the grounds mistake the apparent angle in the centre of the fence for a corner of the yard, it is necessary to state that the fence represented is really on a straight line, but as- cends rising ground from the level part of the yard. The plate shows only a part of the grounds, not embracing any of the fence immediately in front of the building. Any person familiar with engravings of the ancient Grecian Doric temples, such as the Parthenon at Athens, - that " purest and noblest monument of Greek art, which has ever been accepted as the most perfect model of this style "-the temple of Jupi- ter at Ægina, and of Neptune at Pæstum, will at ouce recognize in the portico of the State-House a perfect copy to the smallest detail, as in- decd it was, of one of the best specimens of Grecian architecture.
.1 Thompson's Vermont, Part II, pp. 131, 132.
2 D. P. Thompson's History of Montpelier, p. 149. To this list of arti- cles saved should be added the books and papers in the Treasurer's office and the marble bust of Judge Elijah Painc.
440
Appendix C.
THE THIRD STATE HOUSE AT MONTPELIER-FROM OCT. 13, 1859.
Jan. 26 1857, Gov. Fletcher issued a proclamation summoning the legislature to meet at Montpelier on the 18th of the succeeding Febru- ary, and it met accordingly. After patient consideration and full dis- cussion, the House, iu committee of the whole, Feb. 26, by ballot, selected Montpelier as the capital, and on the 27th passed "an act to provide for rebuilding the State-House," yeas 138, nays SO, and on the same day the Senate concurred, 18 to 11.1 The act was as follows:
AN 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 appropri- ated for the purpose of rebuilding the State-IIouse, and making such repairs and improvements in and around the same, and furnishing said House, as may be necessary; and the Treasurer is hereby directed 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 Montpelier, 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 be paid in one year 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 Governor to appoint three suitable persons as a Committee 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 Governor to appoint some suitable person as a Committee to superintend the work mentioned in the first section of this act, agreeably to the plan adopted by the Com- mittee 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 faithful discharge of his duties.
SEC. 4. This act shall take effect from its passage.
Approved, February 27, 1857.2
Under the second and third sections of the act, Gov. Fletcher ap- pointed George P. Marsh of Burlington, Norman Williams of Wood- stock, and John Porter of Hartford, a committee to prepare a plan for
1 The ballots were as follows: Montpelier 116, Burlington 67, Rutland 35, Bellows Falls 8, Middlebury 1, and Northfield 1-majority for Mont- pelier 4 .- Vt. Capitol, 1857, pp. 77, 253, 271; and Journals of the Senate and House. The volume entitled Vermont Capitol, 1857, contains the proceedings and speeches in both Houses, the most important of the speeches having been either written or revised by the speakers.
2 Printed Acts of 1857, p. 171.
441
Appendix C.
rebuilding and repairs; and Thomas E. Powers of Woodstock a Com- mittee to superintend the work. Thomas W. Silloway of Boston was employed as architect until the autumn of 1857, when Joseph R. Rich- ards of Boston succeeded him and was employed until the buildings were ready for use.
Feb. 27 1857, Elisha P. Jewett, George W. Collamer, and Erastus Hubbard, citizens of Montpelier, executed a bond in the sum of one hundred thousand dollars, as required by the first section of the act ap- proved on that day. The Committee to prepare a plan acted so promptly that on the 25th of the succeeding March, Superintendent Powers issued proposals for contracts, which were speedily made, and the work was so steadily and successfully pressed, that the present much enlarged and improved State-House was completed for use on the 13th of Octo- ber 1859. The cost of rebuilding and furnishing to Oct. 22 1860, was $140,996.63.1 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 Montpelier, and the balance of the total cost was paid by the State. Citizens of Montpelier subscribed for rebuilding the house, in May 1868, $10,000, which sum was paid to the State Treasurer; and in December 1858 they subscribed the further sum of $52,795 for the same purpose, making the total subscription $62,795. The subscribers on the December list gave notes for their respective subscriptions, which were deposited in the Bank of Montpelier, and the Vermont Bank, as security for advances by the banks to the State, and the total amount actually paid by citizens of Montpelier on the last sub- scription, for advances to the State and interest thereon, was $34,446.82, -making their actual contribution, in the two subscriptions, $44,446.82, exclusive of interest on the first $10,000 advanced.2 The estimated cost of rebuilding, when the act of February 1857 was passed, was $45,785. The sum actually paid by Montpelier having approximated nearly to the estimate made when the bond was exacted of her citizens, the legisla- ture, at the October session of 1859, assumed the payment of whatever was then due for the enlargement and furnishing of the State-House, and made an appropriation for that purpose.3
The third and present State-House in Montpelier is in the yard and occupies the site of the second house, and is of the same order of arch- itecture-the portico, which is the most beautiful part of the exterior, being precisely the same. The length of the central building is, how- ever, thirteen feet eight inches greater than that of the second house, and each of the wings were lengthened twelve feet six inches, thus ad-
1 Vermont House Journal for 1860, p. 382.
2 From the subscription papers and accounts of the banks.
3 Vermont Capitol, p. 103; and Laws of 1859, p. 6.
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Appendix C.
ding about one fourth to the commodiousness of the building with- out detracting from its beauty. There were other changes in the roof to each wing, and in the dome, which will sufficiently appear on com- paring the engravings of the two buildings. Still greater changes were made in the interior, specially in construction to guard against fire, the apparatus for heating and lighting, and the furniture. As the building remains, and is likely to remain as long as it shall be required, a detailed description here is deemed unnecessary.1 It is right to declare here, however, that at an expenditure far less than that of many other States for the same purpose, Vermont has a capitol which, for beauty of architec- ture, solidity of construction, and adaptation to the purposes of legisla- tion, will bear comparison with any of the much more costly piles which have since been erected elsewhere for the same purposes.
1 For details see A Description of the State-Houses of Vermont, printed in 1859; and the Vermont Watchman & State Journal of Oct. 21 1859.
THIRD AND PRESENT STATE HOUSE AT MONTPELIER.
THE SECOND STATE HOUSE AT MONTPELIER, AFTER THE FIRE.
APPENDIX D.
THE VERMONT STATE BANK-1806.
ESTABLISHED IN 1806-CEASED ISSUING BILLS IN 1812.
Except the issue by the State of bills of credit in 1781, to the amount of £25,155,1 the issue of no paper money was authorized by Vermont until 1806, when an act was passed establishing the VERMONT STATE BANK. The inconveniences and losses to the people of the State, by reason of a want both of specie and good paper, and an abundance of counterfeit money of both sorts, had been very great. Impelled by their necessities, a portion of the people petitioned the legislature for relief in 1786, and in response various measures were submitted to a vote of the people, and among them one was as to the issue of paper money, which was negatived by a vote of 2197 to 456 .- See Vol. III, pp. 364-366, 371. This vote was small in proportion to the population of the State, but nevertheless it proved that a very large majority of the people were doubtful as to the expediency of incorporating banks, and no attempt was made until 1803, when the House passed bills for two banks, one at Windsor and one at Burlington, evidently aiming to accommodate the people on each side of the Green Mountains, and doubtless succeeding only by a combination of the friends of cach of the proposed banks. The majority in the House was small, the vote being 93 to 83 on the Wind- sor bill,? while the Council non-concurred by a vote of 12 to 1, and as- signed weighty reasons therefor3. When the reasons of the Council had been read, on motion of Lewis R. Morris the clerk was directed to enter them on the journal of the House, and both bills were referred to the next session.4 No definite action was had in 1804, but in 1805 the IIouse
'These bills were faithfully redeemed. See Vol. III, pp. 381-383.
2Printed Assembly Journal of 1803, p. 173.
3See Vol. III, pp. 380-391, for vote and reasons.
+Printed Assembly Journal of 1803, pp. 234-5.
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Appendix D.
again passed the Windsor bill, 108 to 76, and the Burlington bill 107 to 78; and the Governor and Council again non-concurred and assigned reasons therefor.1 In the meantime Elihu Luce of Hartland had intro- duced into the House a bill for the establishment of a State Bank, which had been referred to the committee on banks, and after the non-concur- rence in the Windsor and Burlington bank bills, this committee re- ported as follows:
The committee on banks, to whom was committed a bill entitled An act establishing a state bank, made report-that although the bill seems to be wholly inadequate to the object proposed, it is nevertheless expedi- ent that the general assembly should go into such a consideration of the subject as shall lead to a thorough investigation of its principles, practi- cability and policy.
Which report was read and accepted; and on motion, the bill and re- port were referred to a committee of five, to join a committee from the Council, to report a bill on the subject. Members chosen, Messrs. White [John jr. of Georgia,] Crafts [Samuel C. of Craftsbury,] Chase [Dudley of Randolph,] Porter [Samuel of Dummerston, ] and Bullock [Darius of Halifax. ]2
At the session of 1806 sundry petitions for the incorporation of banks were presented, and two propositions favorable to banks: one by IIon. Daniel Buck of Norwich, "that it is expedient to incorporate a bank within this State" in which "the state should be stockholders to a cer- tain amount," which was disagreed to; and the other by Hon. Dudley Chase of Randolph, "that it is the sense of this house that the establish- ment of private banks within this state, the state reserving in such bank the right of filling up any number of shares, or at any time to assume the whole stock, will be useful to the people of this state," which was rejected by a vote of 93 to 91. Subsequently, Hon. Titus Hutchinson of Woodstock introduced a bill establishing a state bank, and on the 5th of November Woodstock and Burlington were selected as the locations of a bank with two branches, and the bill was passed, 12S to 41. Nov. 6, this bill was referred in Council to Lt. Gov. Paul Brigham, John White, and Nathaniel Niles, who reported on the Sth, and the bill was passed in concurrence with amendments-yeas 10, nays 2. The two houses agreed as to amendments, one of which located a branch at Middlebury instead of Burlington, and the bill became a law, as follows :3
AN ACT establishing a State Bank.
SEC. 1. It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont, That there be, and hereby is established a bank, to be called and known by the name of The Vermont State Bank, to consist of two
1Printed Assembly Journal of 1805. pp. 90, 110; and for reasons of Council see ante, p. S1.
Same, pp. 48, 137. No report of this committee has been found.
8Printed Assembly Journal of 1806, pp. 110, 111, 186, 200, 220; and ante, p. 140, 142-3.
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