The Illinois State Fair will be held in Springfield this year from August 12th to the 21st. The Fair now runs for ten days, and is filled with many exciting attractions and outstanding entertainment including the Democratic booth. Through the years, the Illinois State Fair has had one of the most extensive agriculture shows in the country. It is a place to congregate and learn the history of Illinois Agriculture. While in Springfield, visit the State Capital Building.

The Capitol was built on a site known at the "Mather Block".  This was the highest point of ground within the city limits of Springfield and it was covered with a magnificent stand of trees. Ground was broken for the present Capitol on March 11, 1868; the first stone was set in place a few months later.  A railroad spur was run from the Toledo, Wabash, and Western Railway near 10th St, down Market (Capital) Street and circling the Capitol grounds.  This made it easier to deliver heavy construction materials to the site.  Wooden derricks were used to lift heavy limestone blocks to all areas of the building.

The formal laying of the cornerstone occurred on October 5th, 1868.  Two years later the cornerstone developed large cracks and had to be replaced.

Although still unfinished after eight years of work, the General Assembly moved into the building in 1876. The project was continually plagued with trouble. Corruption was suspected several times and at least one workman was killed on the job. Construction continued intermittently for twenty years. During this time there was a serious movement afoot calling for the abandonment of the unfinished structure and the Capital's removal to some other Illinois city.

Civil War veteran Richard J. Oglesby was Governor when the building was started and was serving a third term when the Capitol was finally completed two decades later in 1888. Initially, construction costs were limited by appropriation to $3,000,000, but expenditures had risen to over $4,500,000 at the time of completion.

The Capitol, situated on a nine-acre plot, was designed in the form of a modified Latin cross. The facade is classical, an extremely popular style for government and public buildings in the nineteenth century. The French-style Mansard roofs on the north and south wings are indicative of the influence of Piquenard, a native of France.

The immense dome is supported by a circular foundation, 92-1/2 feet in diameter, set on solid rock 25-1/2 feet below the grade line. The walls supporting the dome, made from limestone quarried at Hancock County, are seventeen feet thick from the foundation to the first floor. Limestone from Joliet and Lemont quarries was used in the construction of the Capitol's exterior walls.

The extreme length of the building from north to south is 379 feet, and 268 feet from east to west. The height from the ground line to the top of the dome is 361 feet, and 405 feet to the tip of the flagstaff.

The present Capital is the sixth in Illinois history.

The first capitol building was in Kaskaskia. It was a simple two-story brick building that rented for $4 per day.

Vandalia became the second capital of Illinois in 1820, and was the site of three capitol buildings. Vandalia's first capitol was a simple two-story structure, which was destroyed by fire. In 1824, Vandalia's second capitol was built to replace the burnt building for $15,000. Soon after the third capitol building was built, many Illinoisans began lobbying to move the capital to a more central location in the state.

In 1833, the General Assembly responded by passing an act allowing Illinoisans to choose their capital city. This worried the people of Vandalia, who did not want to lose the capital. Therefore, in 1836, without authorization from the General Assembly, the city tore down the third capitol building and replaced it with the fourth, a brick state house, costing $16,000. Despite this, Illinois voters selected Springfield as the new state capital city in 1839.

Illinois' fifth capitol was built in Springfield in 1853 at a cost of $260,000.

Construction on the sixth and present capitol was begun in 1868. As mentioned above, the building took twenty years to complete at a cost of $4.5 million.

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