DESPITE THIS NEW BUILDING, THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE WOULD VOTE IN 1837 TO MOVE THE CAP TOL FROM
VIRGINIA TO CENTRALIZED LOCATION
TO SPRINGFIELD.
AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE
ASSEMBLY IS ASPIRING LAWYER FROM
NEW SALEM.
HI, I AM JIM WILHELM.
BEHIND ME IS ILLINOIS' FIFTH
STATEHOUSE, INSIDE OF WHICH THE
CAREER AND REPUTATION OF ABRAHAM
LINCOLN GREW.
AT THE TIME THIS BUILDING
OPENED, IT WAS THE LARGEST
STRUCTURE IN THIS FRONTIER STATE
CHARACTERISTIC OF THE THEN
POPULAR GREEK REVIVAL STYLE, THE
CAPITOL HAS SIMPLE LINES AND
SYMMETRICAL DESIGN.
IT IS THOUGHT THAT THE EXTERIOR
WALLS WERE TO HAVE BEEN COVERED
IN BRICK. BUT WHEN THESE STONES
ARRIVED FOR THE FOUNDATION,
THEIR RUGGED BEAUTY CHANGED THE
ARCHITECT'S MIND.
INSIDE THE SPACIOUS INTERIOR
HOUSED THE OFFICES, STAFFS, AND
OFFICIALS OF THE STATE OF
ILLINOIS.
IN SHORT, ALL THE BUSINESS OF
THE STATE WAS CONDUCTED UNDER
ONE ROOF.
OH, AND BESIDES LINCOLN, THIS
BUILDING HAS A CONNECTION WITH
ANOTHER FUTURE PRESIDENT.
ON THE MAIN FLOOR WERE THE DEPARTMENTS THAT PRIMARILY HANDLED THE DAILY AFFAIRS OF THE
STATE, SUCH AS THE AUDITOR'S
OFFICE.
INTO THIS LARGE ROOM CAME THE
FINANCIAL RECORDS OF EACH COUNTY
WHICH WERE THEN HAND COPIED BY
CLERKS INTO LARGER MORE
PERMANENT LEDGER BOOKS.
MOST OF THE FURNISHINGS IN THESE
ROOMS ARE REPRODUCTIONS OR OF
THE PERIOD BECAUSE IN 1876 WHEN
THE CAPITOL WAS MOVED AGAIN,
THIS TIME TO ITS PRESENT
LOCATION, MOST OF THE ITEMS WERE
SOLD AT AUCTION.
BUT SOME HAVE RETURNED, SUCH AS
THIS DESK THAT WAS USED BY OLIN
MINOR WHEN HE WAS STATE AUDITOR
IN 1864.
ANOTHER INTERESTING PIECE IS
THIS LARGE UNIT AGAINST THE
WALL.
IT IS A FILING CABINET WHOSE
DRAWERS LOOK MORE LIKE GRAIN
SCOOPS FROM A KITCHEN.
>> IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE NOW,
BUT BACK IN THOSE DAYS, THIS WAS
A NOISY, SMELLY PLACE TO WORK.
MUD AND MANURE WAS TRACKED IN
FROM THE UNPAVED STREETS.
OUTSIDE, ANIMALS ROAMED FREE,
AND IN THE SUMMER, DUST FLEW IN
THROUGH THE OPEN WINDOWS WHICH
HAD NO SCREENS.
BUT ONE SERENE AREA MIGHT HAVE
BEEN NEXT DOOR IN A ROOM THAT
FOR A TIME FILLED SEVERAL
PURPOSES.
THIS WAS THE DISPLAY ROOM FOR
THE STATE MUSEUM.
IT ALSO HOUSED A COLLECTION THAT
WILL BECOME THE STATE LAW
LIBRARY.
BOOKS WERE A VALUABLE COMMODITY
BACK IN THE EARLY DAYS.
PEOPLE WERE BORROWING BOOKS AND
NOT RETURNING THEM.
IN 1842 THE LIBRARY BEGAN TO
REQUIRE ATTORNEYS AND STATE
OFFICIALS TO SIGN FOR THE BOOKS
THAT THEY BORROWED.
IT IS BELIEVED ONE OF THE FIRST
PEOPLE TO DO SO WAS A LINCOLN.
ACROSS THE HALL IS ANOTHER ROOM
THAT FIGURED PROMINENTLY DURING
LINCOLN'S CAREER IN WHICH HIS
REPUTATION AMONG HIS PEERS WOULD
GROW.
THIS IS THE ILLINOIS SUPREME
COURT ROOM WHERE LINCOLN AND HIS
FIRM HANDLED CASES MOST
SUCCESSFULLY.
>> THE SUPREME COURT MET EACH
DECEMBER AFTER THE CIRCUIT COURT
CONVENED.
THERE WAS NO APPELLATE COURT IN
THOSE DAYS.
THE CASES HEARD HERE CAME FROM
DIRECTLY FROM CIRCUIT COURT.
THE JUMP OF JUSTICES CHANGED
OVER THE YEARS.
IN 1841 THE NUMBER WAS SET AT
NINE, AND THEY WERE SELECTED BY
THE LEGISLATURE.
IT IS THOUGHT THEY SAT AGAINST
THIS WALL.
ONE OF THE NEWLY APPOINTED
JUSTICES WOULD BECOME ILLINOIS'
MOST POWERFUL POLITICIAN,
STEPHEN DOUGLAS.
SEVEN YEARS LATER CONCERNED OVER
THE LEGISLATURE'S INFLUENCE LED
TO NEW STATE CONSTITUTION.
THE JUSTICES WERE NOW ELECTED,
AND THEIR NUMBER REDUCED TO
THREE REPRESENTING THE NORTHERN,
CENTRAL, AND SOUTHERN SECTIONS
OF THE STATE.
THIS IS THE ROOM WHERE THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MET. AND AT ONE TIME IT WAS THE
LARGEST ROOM IN TOWN.
BACK IN THOSE DAYS,
REPRESENTATIVES ONLY MET EVERY
OTHER YEAR, AND THEY ONLY MET IN
THE WINTER MONTHS AFTER THE
FARMING SEASON.
WHEN NOT IN USE, THE DESKS WERE
CLEARED AND THIS ROOM WAS SORT
AFTER CIVIC CENTER, HOSTING
DANCES, CHURCH MEETINGS,
RECITALS, AND FLOWER SHOWS.
ORIGINAL TO THE ROOM IS LARGE
PAR PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON OVER
THE PODIUM.
AFTER THIS BUILDING WAS OPENED,
THEY DECIDED TO SEND A ARTIST TO
WASHINGTON D.C. TO MAKE COPIES
OF PICTURES THAT HUNG IN THE
HOUSE CHAMBER.
THIS IS ONE OF THEM.
THE OTHER IS OFLA FAYETTE, WHICH
STILL HANGS ACROSS THE HALL IN
THE SENATE CHAMBER.
THAT ARTIST WAS PAID $1,500
WHICH INTERESTINGLY WAS $300
MORE THAN LINCOLN WOULD PAY FOR
HIS FIRST HOME FOUR YEARS LATER.
ALSO ORIGINAL TO THIS ROOM IS
THIS DESK BOUGHT WHEN THE
FURNITURE WAS AUTHORIZED, IT IS
BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN USED BY
LINCOLN.
NCOLN ENDED HIS STATE ELECTED
CAREER IN THIS ROOM SERVING OUT
HIS FOURTH AND LAST TERM AS
STATE REPRESENTATIVE.
IT WAS ALSO HIS ROAD TO THE
WHITE HOUSE BEGAN.
AND IT WAS HERE THE FINAL
CHAPTER WAS WRITTEN.
ON JUNE 16, 1858, THE ILLINOIS
REPUBLICAN PARTY MET IN THIS
ROOM TO SELECT A CANDIDATE TO
RUN FOR U.S. SENATE.
THE CANDIDATE WOULD FACE THE
STATE'S MOST POWERFUL
POLITICIAN, STEPHEN DOUGLAS.
THEY CHOSE LINCOLN, AND THAT
EVENING HE GAVE HIS ACCEPTANCE
SPEECH.
DOUGLAS WAS BEST KNOWN FOR
SPONSORSHIP OF THE
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT WHICH WOULD
ALLOW NEW STATES TO DECIDE THE
LEGALITY OF SLAVERY WITHIN THEIR
BORDERS.
LINCOLN WAS A ABOUT TO ADDRESS
THAT LAW IN THE NATION'S BITTER
DIVISION.
DER THIS PORTRAIT OF WASHINGTON, HE SAID "IN MY OPINION, IT WILL NOT CEASE UNTIL
A CRISIS SHALL HAVE BEEN REACHED
AND PASSED.
A HOUSE DIVIDED AGAINST ITSELF
CANNOT STAND.
I BELIEVE THIS GOVERNMENT CANNOT
ENDURE PERMANENTLY HALF SLAVE
AND A HALF FREE.
I DO NOT EXPECT THE UNION TO BE
DISSOLVED.
I DO NOT EXPECT THE HOUSE TO
FALL.
BUT I DO EXPECT IT WILL CEASE TO
BE DIVIDED.
IT WILL BECOME ALL ONE THING OR
ALL THE OTHER."
THAT SPEECH WAS SEEN BY FRIENDS AND DELEGATES ALIKE AS A DISMAL FAILURE.
HE WENT ONTO LOOSE THAT
ELECTION. BUT THAT SPEECH,
ALONG WITH MANY OTHERS THAT HE
GAVE DURING THE FAMOUS
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES PUT HIS
NAME AT THE HEAD OF HIS PARTY
AND THE NATION.
IN 1865, LINCOLN'S BODY RETURNED
TO THIS ROOM.
HERE UNDER THE SAME PORTRAIT OF
WASHINGTON, HE LAY IN STATE.
IT WOULD BE THE LAST OPPORTUNITY
FOR THE PUBLIC TO VIEW HIS
REMAINS BEFORE BURIAL.
THIS IS THE RECEPTION AREA TO THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE. BACK IN THE TIME WHEN LINCOLN
WAS RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT, THE
CANDIDATE DIDN'T GO AROUND THE
COUNTRY MAKING SPEECHES.
BUT STAYED THIS ONE PLACE AND
LET THE NEWSPAPER REPORTERS AND
PUBLIC COME TO THEM.
SO THIS WAS THE INFORMAL
HEADQUARTERS OF LINCOLN CAM
PAPE. IT WAS ALSO ROOM THAT WAS
RAPIDLY FILLING WITH GIFTS
BROUGHT BY WELL-WISHERS AND
THOSE SEEKING POLITICAL FAVORS.
AS WE HAVE ALREADY HINTED, THIS
BUILDING HAS A TIE IN TO ANOTHER
FUTURE PRESIDENT.
IT COULD BE SAID HIS PATH TO THE
WHITE HOUSE BEGAN IN THIS ROOM.
THIS WAS THE OFFICE OF THE AND
JEW TANT WHO OVERSAW THE STATE
MILITIA.
AFTER THE CIVIL WAR BEGAN, IT
WAS A BUSY PLACE AS GROUPS OF
VOLUNTEERS FROM ACROSS THE STATE
CAME HERE TO REGISTER FOR
SERVICE.
ONE OF THE PEOPLE WAS A WEST
POINT GRAD PRIT AND MEXICAN WAR
VETERAN.
THEY WERE FROM GALENA, A MAN WHO
ACCOMPANIED THEM WAS ULYSSES
GRANT.
HE WAS ASKED TO HELP STAY AND
TRAIN AND ORGANIZE AND MUSTER IN
THE NEW TROOPS.
HE WOULD WORK FROM A DESK UNDER
THE STAIRS, ALL THE WHILE HOPING
TO BE ASSIGNED A COMMAND.
EVENTUALLY DUE TO GOVERNOR YATES
RECOMMENDATIONS, GRANT WAS MADE
A COLONEL OF THE 21ST ILLINOIS
VOLUNTEERS.
ANYWAY, THAT WAS 1861.
NOW, LET'S GO BACK TO 1843 AND
LINCOLN'S LAW CAREER.
AT THAT TIME HE WAS A JUNIOR
PARTNER WITH STEPHEN LOGAN WHO
WAS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST
ATTORNEYS IN THE STATE.
IN 1843, THAT FIRM HAD JUST
MOVED INTO A NEW OFFICE BUILDING
>> ACROSS FROM THE OLD STATE
CAPITOL IS THIS BUILDING ALSO
RUN AND MAINTAINED BY THE
ILLINOIS HISTORIC PRESERVATION
AGENCY.
BUILT DURING THE BOOM AFTER THE
CAPITOL'S MOVE FROM VANDALIA,
ITS OWNERS FORESAW THE TOP TWO
FLOORS AS AWARE HOUSE.
OFFICE SPACE WAS AT A PREMIUM.
THIS, THE SECOND FLOOR WAS
RENTED TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
AT $500 A YEAR FOR ITS OFFICES
AND A COURTROOM.
>> NOT MUCH IS KNOWN ABOUT THE
CASES HEARD HERE SINCE ALL THE
RECORDS WERE LATER MOVED TO
CHICAGO AND LOST IN THE GREAT
FIRE.
BUT IT IS KNOWN THAT THE
EXTRADITION HEARING FOR JOSEPH
SMITH, FOUNDER OF THE MORMAN
RELIGION, WAS HELD IN THIS ROOM.
>> IT WAS A PACKED HOUSE.
AT THE BENCH WAS NA NATHANIEL
POPE, ONE OF ILLINOIS' FOUNDING
FATHERS, AND IN ORDER TO
ACCOMMODATE THE HUGE CROWD, HE
INVITED THE LADIES TO JOIN HIM
UP HERE.
ONE OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEYS IS
SAID TO HAVE REMARKED ABOUT
APPROVE ET OF THE LORD BEING
TRIED IN THE PRESENCE OF ANGELS
BEFORE POPE.
DIRECTLY ABOVE THE COURTROOM IS
PROBABLY THE MOST FAMOUS LAW
OFFICE IN THE STATE.
THIS WAS THE ROOM LOGAN AND
LINCOLN MOVED INTO IN 1843.
BY TODAY'S STANDARDS IT IT SEEMS
STARK WITH NO FLOOR OR WALL
COVERING AND ONLY THE MOST
ESSENTIAL PIECES OF FURNITURE.
THE PARTNER SAT AT THE HEAD
TABLE WHILE BEFORE THEM WERE
SEVERAL CLERKS WHO SPENT MOST OF
THEIR TIME COPYING DOCUMENTS.
IN THE SUMMER, GRASS GREW ON THE
FLOOR IN THE MANURE AND MUD THAT
HAD BEEN TRACKED INTO THE OFFICE
>> THIS IS A PRIME LOCATION.
RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET IS THE
STATE CAPITOL.
IT IS THE LAW LIBRARY.
THE BEST HOTEL IN TOWN IS RIGHT
OVER HERE.
BELOW IS THE FEDERAL COURTROOM
AND POST OFFICE AND JUST HALF A
BLOCK AWAY IS THE SANGAMON
COUNTY COURTHOUSE.
NOT LONG AFTER MOVING HERE,
LOGAN LEFT TO PARTNER WITH HIS
SON.
SO LINCOLN TOOK ON ONE OF THEIR
CLERKS AS A JUNIOR PARTNER,
WILLIAM HERNDON.
LINCOLN DOESN'T SPEND MUCH TIME
HERE.
HE WAS BUSY RIDING THE CIRCUIT
OR ATTENDING TO BUSINESS AT THE
CAPITOL BUILDING.
IN 1847, LINCOLN HEADED TO
WASHINGTON D.C. FOR HIS FIRST
AND ONLY TERM IN CONGRESS.
WITH LINCOLN GONE, HERNDON
NEEDED LESS SPACE, SO HE MOVED
HIS FIRM TO A SMALLER OFFICE
JUST A FEW YARDS FROM THE LAST
LOCATION.
>> OUT OF ALL THE OFFICES FROM
WHICH LINCOLN WOULD PRACTICE LAW
THERE ARE ONLY TWO REMAINING
TODAY.
BOTH ARE IN THIS BUILDING.
>> HERE IS AN INTERESTING SIDE
BAR: IN THE OFFICE NEXT DOOR
WAS A FRIEND OF ABRAHAM
LINCOLN'S BY THE NAME OF ALBERT
BLEDSOE.
HE WAS EDITOR OF THE LOCAL WHIG
NEWSPAPER.
HE LEFT SPRINGFIELD IN 1840 AND
WOUND UP IN VIRGINIA WHERE HE
WAS LATER NAMED ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF WAR FOR THE
CONFEDERACY.
>> TODAY THESE RECONSTRUCTED
OFFICES COMBINED WITH THE OLD
STATE CAPITOL HELP RECREATE
LINCOLN'S WORLD, HERE HIS
PROFESSIONAL CAREER GREW, HIS
RISE TO NATIONAL PROGRAM NENES
-- TO NATIONAL PROMINENCE.
THE OLD STATE CAPITOL DISPLAYS
TEMPORARY OR TOURING EXHIBIT
FROM TIME TO TIME.
ON DISPLAY THE DAY WE VISITED
WAS FURNITURE FROM ABRAHAM
LINCOLN'S FUNERAL TRAIN.
TO SCHEDULE A GROUP TOUR OR FOR
MORE INFORMATION (217)785-7960.