Capitol (Williamsburg, Virginia)
Capitol | |
Contributing Property | |
Williamsburg Historic District (ID66000925[1] ) | |
Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
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The Capitol at Williamsburg, Virginia housed both Houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the Council of State and the House of Burgesses of the Colony of Virginia from 1705, when the capital was relocated there from Jamestown, until 1780, when the capital was relocated to Richmond. Two capitol buildings served the colony on the same site: the first from 1705 until its destruction by fire in 1747; the second from 1753 to 1780.
The earlier capitol was reconstructed in the early 1930s as part of the restoration of Colonial Williamsburg. The reconstruction has thus lasted longer than the combined total of both original capitol buildings.
History of Williamsburg
First Williamsburg Capitol (1705–1747)
In 1698, the Capitol building in Jamestown, Virginia, burned. Following the fire, the government of Virginia decided to relocate inland, away from the swamps at the Jamestown site.
A better Capitol building was constructed by
The Colonial Capitol was a two-story H-shaped structure, functionally two buildings connected by an arcade. Each wing served one of the two houses of the Virginia legislature, the Council and the House of Burgesses. The first floor of the west building was for the General Court and the colony's secretary, the first floor of the east for the House of Burgesses and its clerk.[3] As a result of the fires that had destroyed several prior Virginia capitals, Cary built the first Capitol without fireplaces. In 1723, chimneys were added for fireplaces to help keep the Capitol dry. On January 30, 1747, the building burned and only some walls and the foundation remained.[2]
Second Williamsburg Capitol (1753–1779)
Governor William Gooch urged that the Capitol be rebuilt, but many legislators preferred relocating the government to a city more accessible to trade and navigation. In the meantime, the burgesses met again at the nearby Wren Building. Finally, in November 1748, reconstruction of the Capitol was approved (by only two votes: 40 to 38). The burgesses met inside for the first time on November 1, 1753. James Skelton, owner of Elk Island, was contracted to build the Capitol.[4] [5]
In this building,
On June 29, 1776, Virginians declared their independence from Great Britain and wrote the state's first constitution, thereby creating an independent government four days before Congress voted for the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia on July 4.
The Capitol at Williamsburg served until the American Revolutionary War began, when Governor Thomas Jefferson urged it that the capital be relocated to Richmond. The building was last used as a capitol on December 24, 1779, when the Virginia General Assembly adjourned to reconvene in 1780 at the new capital, Richmond.
After the capital of Virginia was moved to Richmond in 1779, the old Capitol was used for a wide range of purposes, from a court to a school. The east wing was removed around 1800 because of its dangerous condition, leaving only the west wing standing for the next 30 years, until it was destroyed by fire in 1832, leaving no trace of the original structure, except for the outline of its foundations.[6]
Reconstruction
The building that stands now in
The architects charged with restoration of Williamsburg chose to reconstruct the first capitol based on superior documentation of its design, including in the 1929-discovered
The reconstruction opened to the public on February 24, 1934.[7]
Gallery
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Reconstruction exterior
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Reconstructed chamber of the House of Burgesses
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The reconstructed building at night.
See also
- Virginia State Capitol (Richmond)
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-87935-111-X.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Richard Guy (2002). Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont. Oxford University Press. pp. 363–364.
- ^ Special Collections, John D Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
- ^ Goodwin, Mary (1934). "The Capitol : Second Building, 1747 - 1832". Colonial Williamsburg. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
- ^ Taylor Stoermer, Colonial Williamsburg: The Official Guide (2014), 147.
- ISBN 978-0-8078-3343-8.