Old Mississippi State Capitol

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Old State Capitol
(U.S. National Historic Landmark)
Old State Capitol in 1972
Location:	100 N. State St., Jackson, Mississippi
Coordinates:	32°17′59.15″N 90°10′46.69″W / 32.2997639, -90.1796361Coordinates: 32°17′59.15″N 90°10′46.69″W / 32.2997639, -90.1796361
Built/Founded:	1839
Architect:	William Nichols
Architectural style(s):	Greek Revival
Designated as NHL:	December 14, 1990[1]
Added to NRHP:	November 25, 1969[2]
NRHP Reference#:	69000087
Governing body:	State

Originally called the State House,, the Old Mississippi State Capitol, also known as Old Capitol Museum or Old State Capitol, is the former capitol building for the Mississippi state legislature from 1839 until 1903. It is currently a museum of Mississippi history. The building is a Mississippi State Historic Site and a National Historic Landmark. It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1990.^[1][3]

Contents 1 Beginning 2 Events 3 Vacancy and renovation 4 Inadequacies 5 Damage from Hurricane Katrina 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Beginning

The first state house, a small brick building, was erected on the northeast corner of Capitol and President Streets and was in use from 1822 until the new-at-the-time capitol building was first used in 1839.

The Old Mississippi State Capitol served as the Capitol Building from 1839 until its replacement in 1903 by the current capitol building. It currently serves as a museum, containing exhibits from all periods of Mississippi's history.

Construction was begun in 1833, but there were difficulties with the architect and some of the materials proved defective. The work was halted, some of it was torn down, and a new architect, William Nichols, was employed. Although the Capitol was not completed until 1840, the Legislature first met in the unfinished building in 1839.

The Old Capitol is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century Greek Revival architecture. It was the third and final statehouse designed by the influential British architect William Nichols. The Old Capitol is Jackson’s oldest building. The imposing structure was situated at the main intersection of the young city, standing at the head of Jackson's Capitol Street, and soon became its dominant feature. The building itself is defined by its rotunda, which rises ninety-four feet from the polished limestone floor to the top of the dome.

The Old Capitol was designed as the architectural expression of the 1832 Mississippi constitution, which articulated Jacksonian democracy’s ideal of broad public participation in government. Consequently, the legislative chambers eclipsed the governor's office in elegance and location, and the public was provided large, open galleries in both the House and Senate chambers to view the proceedings.

[edit] Events

Many historic events occurred in the old Capitol.

1839 saw the passage of the first law in America giving property rights to married women.

Events honoring Andrew Jackson during his last visit to the city named for him occurred in 1840.

Henry Clay was received there in 1844.

In 1847, Jefferson Davis and the Mississippi Volunteers gathered here on their victorious return from the Mexican-American War.

In the House of Representatives on January 9, 1861, Mississippi became an independent republic and the second state to secede.

The first constitutional convention in the South after the fall of the Confederacy was held here in 1865.

Also in 1865 the building was the location of the passage of Mississippi's "Black Codes," legislation restricting the movement and actions of free blacks in the state. The passage of the codes doomed President Lincoln's moderate Reconstruction policies in Mississippi and in other southern states and led to the passage of both the first federal civil rights law, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

In 1870 the building became the location of the election of Hiram Rhodes Revels to the United States Senate, making him the first African American to serve in Congress and marked the beginning of active black participation in the federal legislature.

The last address by Jefferson Davis to the legislature was done in 1884.

In 1884, the first state-supported college for women in America was established there.

In 1890 the Constitution, under which Mississippi is still governed, was adopted there.

The inauguration of Governor William F. Winter was held there in 1980.

Presentation of the French Legion of Honor Award to writer Eudora Welty was done there in 1996.

In 1997, the "old" Capitol saw the signing of a Historic Accord between the State of Mississippi and the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

[edit] Vacancy and renovation

The Old Capitol was virtually abandoned from 1903 to 1916. As the Old Capitol deteriorated from neglect, attempts were made to demolish it. Through the efforts of women's preservation groups, the building was saved from destruction and was turned into a state office building in 1917. Several state agencies including the Board of Health, the Department of Education, and the Department of Agriculture once called the Old Capitol Office Building home.

The Old Capitol was originally constructed with a limestone base and a faux-limestone facade of scored stucco on three sides, with brick left exposed only at the back of the building—which faced what was then the wild Pearl River swamp.

During the administration of Governor J. P. Coleman (1956-1960), a major restoration of the Old Capitol was begun. The Department of Archives and History directed its renovation into a state museum and showplace for Mississippi History. Construction began February 6, 1959 with the State Historical Museum being dedicated on June 3, 1961. The cost of the restoration was approximately 2 million dollars. The faux-limestone stucco was left off as a cost-cutting measure.

[edit] Inadequacies

From its 1961 into-a-museum renovation until 2005 the Old Capitol was home to the state’s history museum. As a public museum the building was subjected to heavy use by visitors. In addition, changes made to the site from 1959 to 1961 exacerbated moisture problems that affected the building structurally and cosmetically.

The Old Capitol has long been plagued by rising damp, where moisture from below is wicked up through porous brick or plaster walls. The moisture rises to as high as eight feet before bursting through the plaster, giving the appearance of tufts of cotton on the walls.

Although the Old Capitol provided a dramatic setting for the exhibits, it was poorly suited to house the state’s history museum. The limitations associated with such a historic building hampered the museum’s efforts to mount exhibits. Rooms were small and could not be altered; since nothing could be anchored in the walls exhibits had to use free-standing displays that took up more floor space.

The history museum had outgrown the site in other ways. Artifact storage had become such a problem that a moratorium was placed on collections. The museum had to refuse donations because there was simply no place to put them.

In the late 1990s plans were developed to construct a new Museum of Mississippi History one block north of the Old Capitol. The Mississippi legislature set aside $2.2 million to design the state-of-the-art facility, which would offer more exhibit space than the Old Capitol, modern storage, meeting, and office areas, and the capability for multimedia presentations of the state’s history. When the new museum was finished and occupied, the Old Capitol was to be restored and reopened with a new focus. Instead of telling the whole story of Mississippi’s history, it would primarily interpret events connected to the building during its years as the seat of government, 1839–1903.

[edit] Damage from Hurricane Katrina

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into Mississippi. The copper roof of the Old Capitol was peeled back by the storm’s winds and rain was driven in, badly damaging both building and artifacts. Collection storage areas were the worst hit. There was nowhere to move those artifacts except areas open to the public, forcing the museum to close immediately.

Meanwhile, the saturated insulation and wet plaster gave rise to severe mold and mildew problems. Staff members stayed in the building to coordinate the removal of all artifacts, and then were relocated into temporary offices.

With the Old Capitol closed, the plan to build a new Museum of Mississippi History first and restore the Old Capitol afterwards was no longer viable. The 2006 Legislature responded and fully funded the restoration of the Old Capitol. Work on the site began in January 2007, and the museum is scheduled to open to the public in January 2009.

As part of the post-Hurricane Katrina renovation, the scored faux-limestone stucco is being replaced, with the first test application done on May 23, 2008^[4].

An iron fence that was removed during an earlier renovation has been replicated and installed. A large three-part gate is centered in front of the building, with two smaller gates flanking it. Like the original, the fence features two lanterns and six eagles atop the gateposts.

Inside, the Governor’s Office, Senate and High Court Chambers, and State Library will be restored to their nineteenth-century appearances. The renovated House of Representatives chamber will continue to be used for special programs and events. Other exhibits will tell the story of Jackson as the capital city, the Old Capitol’s use in the twentieth century, and the importance of historic preservation.

Along with the William F. Winter Archives and History Building, the Charlotte Capers Archives and History Building, the War Memorial, and the new Museum of Mississippi History, the restored Old Capitol will form the core of the state’s history center, drawing thousands of visitors and serving as a gateway to heritage tourism across Mississippi.^[5]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Old Capitol Museum, at Mississippi State Department of Archives and History

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