Who Built the Dome?

Faced with high labor costs, Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer, Maryland’s intendant of the revenue, explored the possibility of importing "from Europe 15 or 20 Carpenters," indentured servants who would help construct the present dome. Jenifer proposed that the architect of the dome, Joseph Clark, hire these men for one year, after which they would be freed from their indentures.

Several collateral documents suggest that Jenifer carried out this plan, along with hiring artisans from Annapolis and Baltimore. In 1786, the auditor general paid passage for "sundry carpenters from Ireland to work on the State House."

It is thought that enslaved individuals also worked on the construction of the State House but there is no evidence of this yet discovered in private or public records.