Ottumwa tri-weekly courier., 1904-01-12
is THIRTYYEARSOLD.
ERECTION OF IOWA STATE cAPI.
ToL WAS BEGUN IN
1870.

Governor Merrill Threw the First
shovelful Of Dlrt-History Of Work
on Building and Act Which Author
lied Its Erection.
The ground was broken for the new
state house in March, 1870. Governor
Merrill threw the first spade full of
dirt. Colonel s. F. Spofford's matched
white horses drew the plow The state
house was occupied first during the
administration Of Buren r. Sherman
in the year 1884, but was not fully
occupied for three or four years there
after. The building cost s3,0oo,000 and
was thought to be f1reproof. 1t was
built without the misappropriation Of
a doller. The capitol commissioners
were Robert s. Finkbine, Peter A. Dey
and Ed Wright. For a number of
years General Ed Wright was the GUS
todian. Previous to the building of
the capitol a foundation had been put
in under former commission. which
foundation was taken out by the new
commission. The plans were furnish
ed by an architect from Springfield,
ILL.,, who died before the building was
completed. The Iowa capitol is much
like the capitol at Springfield, and
has been considered one Of the great
capitol buildings Of the union. There
walls caused by the settling Of the
structure. The state of Iowa appro-
priated s250,000 per year for the erec-
tion Of the building and towards the
conclusion of the work extra appro-
appropriations were made to hasten
the completion. The corner stone of
the state house is made OF an Iowa
=, Ia 10" ,e,k 3yrn ntyNSN
known. 1t was procured in Buchanan
county and was presented by David
Armstrong Of that county.
The laying of the corner stone took
place with imposing ceremonies on mo-
vember 23, 1871. when addresses were
made by several distinguished gentle-
men, including Hon. Jas. F. Wilson,
Hon. Samuel Merrill, the governor OF
the state, and Hon. John A. Kasson.
A poem was read on this occasion by
Hon. j, B. Grinnell.
Board Of Commissioners.
In 1872 the first board of commis-
sioners was organized, the governor
being made president ex-officio and
two members, John G. Foote, Of Des
Moines. county, and Maturin T.. Fish
er of Clayton county, being added to
the membership. This board decided
that the stone which had been put in
To LHe IOuIlQdLlOtl WIS uLSdIG Ior SuCA
a massive structure and 1t was ta-
ken down and rebuilt at a cost Of ,$52,-
Messrs. cochrane and Piauenard,
were the general architects for the
building. On November 10, 1876, Mr..
Piquenard, who had been appointed
sole architect in 1872, died at his home
in Springfield, ILL.,, and Messrs. Bell
and Hickney We're elected to succeed
him. Bell resigned. later and Hick-
ney had solestharge Of the work from
that time. %
Maturin Fisher, a member of the
board, died in 1879, and was succeed
ed by Cyrus Foreman of Usage. This
was the only change made after that
in the organization of the board, ex-
cept the different governors who serv-
ed as president ex-officio.
s Store From Many Places.
The stone which was used in the
construction Of the building comes
That used In the foundation of the
building was furnished by Messrs.
Tuttle & Robertson OF Des Moines,
and came from the Madison county
quarries near Wlnterset. The stone
| for the basement story was from the
old Capitol quarry in johnson county.
The st. Genevieve Sand, Stone and
/
Company Of Carroll county, Missouri
furnished the stone for that part OF
1 the building above the basement. The
outside steps and platforms are the
\ Forest City stone from near Cleveland
/. Ohio,
The rails are the Sauk Rapids gran.
ite. The pilasters and piers in the in.
4 terror OF the basement are from Ana
!. inosa in this state and Lemont, Ill
Il All the columns, piers and pilasters II
the corridors Of the first story are from
Lernont Ill. The red granite column,
in the second story are from Iror
Mountain, Mo. The dark colored gran
lite in base and cap Of pedestals is from
Sauk Rapids, Mimi, while the carved
! capitals, pilasters and piers are of tn,
Lemont stone.
| The Big Dome.
| The central dome of the capito
which was threatened with collaps,
). during the fire. has been the pride o
all Iowa, being visible for miles ou
from the city of Des Moines as one o
the landmarks Of the capital city. Thi
dome was covered with gold leaf q
the cost Of $500.
!, The Art Collection.
Another feature of the building
which was added at large cost AM
has been one Of the chief attraction
to visitors to the structure are tn
paintings on the ceiling of the suprem
court room. These are all painting
, founded on Greek mythology and ar
not only most artistic in design ant
coloring but were added to the build
ing at a great cost. They were direct
ly under the west side OF the hous
chamber in the north corridor OF tn
building.
The statuary was also placed in tn
building at great cost. The variou
, pieces include History, Science, Law
. Fame, Literature, Industry, Peace
Commerce, Agriculture, Victory, Trut
. and Progress which have been adde
from time to time.
Splendid Rooms Ruined.
The house of representatives., whic
was gutted by the fire. was a magnifi
cent room, "a by 81 feet 4 inches il
extent, and ceiling which measure
AZ feet 9 inches. The senate chambe
was as well proportioned a room
| hNs 1rh - cN rov no. nj