History of the State House Grounds by Dr. Edward C. Papenfuse, State Archivist   Transcription

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1773

• Proceedings and Acts of the General Assembly, 1773 Session.  (Archives of Maryland Volume 63-64)
• 20 June - Summary of account with Charles Wallace the Undertaker for the Stadt House Copper Covering. Resolved that the building to be covered shingles.  (Vol. 63, 348)
• 23 December - Upper House bill to enable the Undertaker to cover the building with copper passed and signed by the Governor.  (Vol. 64, 81)
• 23 December - An "Act to enable the Undertaker for building the Stadt House to cover the same with Copper."  Replaces earlier act to cover the Stadt House with slate tile or lead.  Act also includes a provision and specifications to guard the said Stadt House as far as may be against any Accident from Lightning.  General Assembly and the Loan Office directed to appropriate money to pay for the difference of the expense between a copper and slate covering and for the iron rod, and to pay Charles Wallace for his work.  (Chapter 32, Acts of 1773, Vol. 64, 269-270)

• Bill from John Shaw for building the cellar door to the State House.  (Scharf Papers, MSA S 1005-11747, 19,999-077-085)

• 10 March 1786 - The General Assembly gave its implicit approval to commencing work on Joseph Clark's dome (4-1768-92) which was 'to be 'sixty foot Higer' then the old one. (Timeline of the State House Lightning Rod, 1-108; 4-1768-93)

1788

• Exterior of 'new' (second) dome completed
• "John Shaw was paid December 7, 1788 'for finishing the privey house.' Treasurer of the Western Shore, Ledger E," (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 31).

• Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist - Construction of the present state house was initiated in 1772.  The structure is crowded into the southwest quadrant of the circle and the earliest surviving elevation of the capitol, the print published in the Columbian Magazine in 1789 (Figure 1) shows the center of the site occupied by a structure known as the "Council Chambers". The condition of the grounds in 1789 can only be described as rudimentary.  The print depicts a site which has some grass, no trees or shrubs, and a great deal of erosion.  The evidence suggests grading of the site was not completed initial 1804, some ten years after the completion of the structure."

• King William School, which stood at the south side of the State House was sold at public auction and removed before 'the first day of November 1794.   (Maryland Gazette, August 13, 1794, 31)
• John Shaw, having undertaken the role of superintendent, determined that the State House required some repairs and additions, including "A Brick Wall to Enclose the State house Such as the Drawing with 4 Setts of Stone Steps Say The Iron Railing on the wall & Iron Gates And 525 feet of Stone copeing".  This is the first mention of the unfinished condition of the brick wall. (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 26-27)

• "The conference chamber or Armory, built in 1718, on the north side of the State House, was torn down by [John] shaw by order of the Assembly in December 1796 (paid Shaw 2 pounds for eight days labor tearing down the Old Armory, Sharf Papers, Maryland Historical Society)" (p. 31)
• Shaw made a road to the cellar door.  (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 30)

• Resolution signed authorizing the Governor and Council to employ some person or persons to stop the leak in the roof of the stadt-house, and to paint the external part.  Proceedings of the General Assembly, 1800 Session.  (Archives of Maryland, Volume 94)

• Shaw finished levelling State House Hill.  (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 30)

• General Assembly appropriated $1,000 to paint State House and make minor repairs.  (House and Senate Proceedings, 1810 Session.).
• Additional $1,000 appropriated to "complete the wall [and] to make the gutters and fix the stones to conduct off the water" (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 37).

• General Assembly appropriated $9,000 to enclose and improve the grounds. (Resolution 36 from the 1817 Laws of Maryland, 253)

• Stone wall 2 1/2 feet high with wooden railing on it or a wall four feet high and filled to the top so as to not to show on the inside above the ground proposed -(not positive built yet)  (House of Delegate Proceedings, 1818 Session)
• Council appropriates additional sum of $1,000 "for the grounds and enclosures around the State House...in the first place, to complete the wall; in the second place to make gutters and fix the stones to conduct off the water-being the objects which appear most necessary."  (Proceedings of the Governor and Council, MSA S 1073-32-1875)
• TRANSCRIPTION
• Dec. 1818 - 'Governor Charles Ridgely of Hampton was able to report to the General Assembly that "The public circle has been enclosed with a wall of masonry: which is an effective an lasting enclosure, while it serves the very important purpose of overeating the abrasion and washing away of the hill on which the State House in placed."' (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-1706)
• Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist - "There are two illustrations of the State House and its grounds which appear to have been made after the improvements authorized in 1818.  Each shows the site enclosed by a wall but the perspective differs as does the artist's attention to details other than the State House itself.  The illustration deposited with the Archives by Albert Small (Figure 2) depicts the wall around the grounds of granite at least four feet tall.  This print is remarkable in that it shows the path from Chancery Lane to the front of the State House as well as the path from Francis Street. The other illustration, a copper plate engraving (Figure 3), shows what appears to be a lower wall made of brick with a stone coping.  The only possible explanation for the difference other than artistic license is that the Small print was executed in the midst of work undertaken in 1835 prior to the erection of the iron fence about the ground.  The entry detail at Francis Street on the Small print is confirmed in the first photographs available for the grounds.  That the grounds are completely enclosed by this time is about the only point of agreement between the two works.  There is no evidence of vegetation although the treasurer regularly paid for the pruning of Lombardy poplars from 1822 on."

1819

• April - Payment was approved to H.H. Chapman "for the preservation of the wall enclosing the public circle. (Governor & Council (orders on the Treasury) 1817-1824.)  (MSA S 1092-2, also MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• First reference to plantings. (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 34)
• "Washington Tuck was authorized to erect the platform roof of the steeple and the roof of the State House was covered with slate" (House of Delegates Proceedings, 1822)
• First payment for pruning of Lombardy poplars.  (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• Shed house built

• "Another improvement, perhaps more in comfort than in beauty, was made in 1826, when a walk was paved of stone or brick from the Governor's House to the State House. Later, in July 1837, Richard McGill and W.G. Tuck were given the contract to lay a new pavement at the South End of the State House. Apparently this pavement joined with the flagging in front of the gate and so for the first time one could go from Government House to the State House dry shod."  (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 34)
• Old Methodist Meeting House on State Circle, built circa 1788 on the former site of the old market house and used for a few years as a print shop, was torn down after passage of such a resolution of the General Assembly.  (Resolution 26 from the 1825 General Assembly session)

• Drawing by Alexander Jackson Davis (1803 -1892)  (with original caption)  from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Albert H. Small, Maryland State Archives (MSA SC 1556-21 RESTRICTED)

• The General Assembly passed the following resolution :'Resolved, That the Governor and Council be, and they are hereby authorized and requested to cause the outhouses on the hill and the wall around the Public Circle to be repaired and some suitable covering placed thereon.' At this time a shingle roof, or copeing was built on the top of this brick wall which was torn down three years later."  ("The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907)
• Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1833 Session.
• 4 March 1834 - Report from committee to examine public properties in Annapolis.  Building adjacent to State House is in a ruinous condition and needing immediate repair.  Wall around Public Circle is in such bad order, that suitable and prompt measures should be adopted.  Bill ordered to lie on the table.  (428)
• 7 March 1834 - Governor and Council authorized and requested to cause the out houses on the hill, and the wall around the Public Circle to to be repaired and some suitable covering placed thereon.  (494)

• Resolution No. 85, passed by the General Assembly March 15, 1834, authorized 'the Governor and Council to contract for the building of a small gunhouse.' This building, a small two story frame structure, was erected just at the head of Maryland avenue between the present[1907] Circle and the old wall, shown in the print, which barely encircled the Old Treasury.  ( "The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907)

• "It was not until 1835 that funds were expended to enclose the grounds with an iron fence although resolutions authorizing the work were passed by the General Assembly in 1833 and again in 1834.  Jeremiah Hughes, Dennis Claude, and George Wells were commissioned to oversee the work.  The work may well have encompassed completing the wall at this time as well.  Governor Veazey's new message of December 20, 1836 refers to the completion of the new stone wall and iron railing.  Grading had not [been] completed and Veazey suggested there was a need for an additional appropriation to complete the work.  Gates at three entrances were provided in 1837.  One of the entrances was at Francis Street.  The others most likely were at Chancery Lane to the southwest and at the head of East Street."  (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-1706)
• 20 December, 1835 - Message by Governor Veazey; "The repairs of the public grounds around the State House have not yet been entirely completed. The new stone wall and iron railing appear to be executed in a substantial and workmanlike? manner, and with the exception of the gates to be placed at the three entrances to the circle, those portion of the work may be said to be completed.  There are some trifling improvements which remain to be done on the interior of the circle, such as removing rubbish and grading the grounds, ?? which objects we think a  small additional appropriation should be directed.  After these repairs and improvements shall have been thoroughly consummated, it will be with you to decide upon the expediency in appointing a suitable person, with a small salary, to take care of the public grounds and other state property, and to keep them in suitable order..  (Printed in an unknown newspaper MSA S 1259-121-1706)
• TRANSCRIPTION

• Gov. Thomas W. Veazey in his message to the Legislature December 28, 1836 says, 'The new stone wall and iron railing appear to be executed in a substantial manner' . . . [t]he granite wall surmounted by the iron fence stood for 45 years [until] 1881 . . . [and the] contractor who furnished and put up the iron fence and gates in 1836 was Vachel Seyler.  (Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 11)

 
• Entrance to State House 'extensively graded, a curbing with an iron fence erected, and three gates gates provided for acess to the site." (MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

• Acorn on dome gilded on top and painted dark red on the bottom, middle and pedestal covered with lead and signed and dated by its installers, T. Bennett and P.J Herold.  ("The Story of the State House and Its Dome")
• "Another improvement, perhaps more in comfort than in beauty, was made in 1826, when a walk was paved of stone or brick from the Governor's House to the State House. Later, in July 1837, Richard McGill and W.G. Tuck were given the contract to lay a new pavement at the South End of the State House. Apparently this pavement joined with the flagging in front of the gate and so for the first time one could go from Government House to the State House dry shod."  (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 34)
• "The final improvement appears to have been the installation of flagging from the entrance at Francis Street to the portico.  This contract was let in July of 1837 and may have replaced a gravel path referred to in the work done in 1818" (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist  MSA S 1259-121-1706)
• Gates and locks installed to prevent stock from wandering about the grounds.  (MSA S 1259-121-1706-865)

• 16 February 1839 - Committee on Public Buildings ordered to contract for the paving of the front walk leading from the State House to the front gate.  (257)  (Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1838 Session, 257)

• "[A] cannon found place in the circle, embellished with a bronze plaque gift of the Daughters of the American Revolution.  This was a piece of ordnance which Captain Thomas Carberry of Washington, D.C. lifted from the St. Mary's River in 1824, along with five or six others.  It was offered to the State by the Reverend Joseph Carberry, brother of the discoverer, and accepted by the General Assembly in 1840." (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 35-38)
• "Resolved by the General Assembly of Maryland, That the State will accept the piece of ordnance presented by the Reverend Joseph Carberry, and that his Excellency the Governor, be requested to communicate this resolution to him, and cause the same to be transported to the seat of government and placed at some suitable place within the entrance hall of the State House, and to draw on the treasury for such amount as may be necessary to defray the expenses thereof." (Resolution 16 from the 1840 Laws of Maryland, 21)
• The dates on the bronze plaque are not the same as those in the Resolution. (Radoff, 38)  ECP Notes MSA S 1259-121-1706 say 1841.

• "The hill on which stands this noble edifice [the State House] is inclosed by a neat and substantial granite wall, surmounted by a handsome iron railing which is entered by three gates, one situated at the head of Francis street, the second to the southwest and the third to the northwest of the circle.    The main entrance to the building is through a portico of but modest pretensions . . ." ( "The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907).

• 21 February 1846 - Report from Committee re: deplorable conditions of interior and exterior of State House, need for repairs.  (Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1845 Session, 306-308)

• Invoice for the planting of several trees on State House grounds, including Butter Nut, Pecan Nut, Black Walnut, Shell Cork, Linden, Silver Leaf Poplar, Aspen Silver Poplars, Lindens, Aspens, and Black Walnut. (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• Sachse lithograph "View of Annapolis" circa 1850. (courtesy of the MD Historical Society?) (MSA S 1259-121-1706-2)

• Annapolis Gas company charted.  The pair of gas lamps at the entry to the grounds and at the porch to the State House must then have been installed after 1856.(Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• Gunhouse razed
• The old octagonal or round house, on the northwest side of the State House was torn down in 1858 by Samuel W. Brooks.   ("The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907)
• February 1858 - Bill to light the entire State House with gas is passed by the House and the Senate.  (Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1858 Session)
• It was in 1858 that the old semi-octagonal bay was removed from the western side of the State House and replaced by a larger octagonal annex.  (Radoff, Buildings of the State of Maryland in Annapolis, 95)
• Bill entitled, "an Act appropriating a sum of money for the rendering the more secure, against fire, the State House and the public archive, for erecting a fire-proof record office, and for enlarging the State Library room, and the Hall of the House of Delegates," is considered, and amendments proposed.  (Proceedings of the Senate, 1858 Session, 325-326)
 

[B]rick Comptroller's office, or land office, on the hill facing Maryland avenue, which was built in 1859 and torn down in 1906 occupied almost the same site upon which [the old] gunhouse stood" ("The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907)

• The two photographs taken before 1872 (figures 4 and 5??) of the entry at Francis Street show a granite wall somewhat less that four feet in height with the iron railing.  There is a flight of seven granite steps from the circle to the gates to the grounds.  Given a rise of eight inches per step it seems likely that the threshold at the gates was 4' 8" above the circle.  The flagging from the entry appears to be steep and is provided with a step at regular intervals of approximately 10 to 15 feet, four steps in all.  The porch at the entry to the State House appears to to have a flight of five steps from the flagging to landing at the door.  At a point thirty feet inside the gates there appear to be paths that follow the perimeter of the circle, one towards the entry at Chancery Lane and the other to the Treasury building.  Benches are provided on the paths about twenty feet from the junction with the main approach.  Likewise benches are placed at either side of the southeast elevation at the corners of the building.  From this photographic evidence it is likely that the entry from Chancery Lane crosses the front of the structure and proceeds by the Treasury building towards East Street. The path on the right from the entry at Francis Street must have intersected with the approach to the Treasury from East Street.  Hopkins atlas of 1878 confirms only the existence of paths from Chancery Lane, Francis Street, and East Street. (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-706)

• Roger Brooke Taney (1777-1864) statue unveiled on March 17, the anniversary of Taney's birth. (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 40)
• "The installation of the Taney statue in 1872 was made directly on the flagging.  No arrangements to set the monument apart from the entry were made.  The statue appears to be off center as well." (Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• Two photographs taken of the entry to the grounds between 1872 and 1882 (figures 6 and 7) give ample evidence of the landscape plan of the period. Trees were planted along the sides of the main entry in a columnar row a towards the porch and the paths which are discernible appear to have been bordered with trees as well.  There is an appearance of order and a desire for symmetry in the arrangement of the plantings.(Notes by Dr. E.C. Papenfuse, State Archivist, MSA S 1259-121-1706)

• Double paned sashes placed in the State House windows.  ("State House Restoration" Baltimore Sun, 9 April 1905, kept with MSA SC 182-02-0086)

 

• Tin roof [torn off?? or replaced] with slate.  (See Report of Select Committee to Investigate the Repairs upon the State House, 56, 62)

• Architect in charge of the State House improvements instructed to procure window-board ventilators, costing not more than six dollars per window.  (Proceedings of the House of Delegates, 1878 Session, 28)

• A portico to be built in front of the State House, front cased in marble, with marble steps. Columns made of White Pine. Cornice a duplicate of 'the old work', as was door. ("Specifications for Building a Portico in front of the State House" Board of Public Works 1881 (General File), MSA S 42-7, 12,687-12)

• Grounds were graded and several 'parterres and pavillions' were constructed.  See undated letter from George Gray to The Board of Public Works regarding proposal to make improvements to State House Grounds.  Transcription.   (MSA S 42-18, 12,687-17)
• Narrow pavement adjoining the grounds removed entirely, extend the opposite pavement to 12 feet.
• J.M. Marshall contracted to cut and set a curb, eight inches by ten inches, above the paving line around State Circle in place of the iron railing.  (MSA S 42-18, 12,687-17)
• ??Removal of iron railing and the removal and rebuilding of a portion of the present wall bounding the grounds so as to include between it and pavement, a roadway or street 24 feet wide a portico was suggested in original style of building (English Palladian)??  See letter from Frank B. Mayer to Board of Public Works regarding improvements to the State House grounds (MSA S 42-18, 12,687-17)
• Opened walks or avenues towards Governor's house and St John's College and Naval Academy and East street.
• Circle around hill paved.  (Chapter 174, 1882 Laws of Maryland, 241)
• J.M. Marshall contracted to build porch with above change.  Board of Public Works Minutes (MSA S 33-1, 12,683-2)

• Rectangular annex built, connected by passageway with 1858 octagonal annex. (as long as the CI was wide and about 40 ft in width)
• Bronze statue of Baron de Kalb unveiled August 16, 1886.  "Emphraim Keyser of Baltimore was the sculptor.  Cast by G. B. Bastianelli in Rome in 1886. (Radoff, The State House at Annapolis, 37)

• Electric power available in Annapolis - don't know when connected to State House.  (MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

• 15 February - Committee appointed to purchase furniture and gas fixtures in the rooms assigned to the Senate.  (Proceedings of the Senate, 1888 Session, 268)

•  7 February 1899 - Secretay of the Board authorized to have stand pipes introduced into the State House with the necessary hose connections attached thereto.  Board of Public Works Minutes.  (MSA S 32-2)

• General Assembly appropriated funds to tear down rectangular and octagonal annexes

• Paving of State Circle.  (MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)  (Also, Chapter 298 of the Acts of 1900.)

• New, present, two story addition to State House built
• Granite base, brick superstructure, limestone trimmings

• Baldwin & Pennington recommend following changes to state house structure/exterior (made other recommendations about interior etc.) (January 29, 1904: Report from Baldwin & Pennington)
• wood cornice to be replaced with stone
• roof should be replaced with slate in original manner
• front portico restored and made of marble, conforming with old design
• base to be made of granite to conform with new addition
• dome to be made of steel
• "The work of building the large stone steps to the rear of the annex of the State House is progressing" (23 August 1904, "Work on Capitol Progressing," Evening Capital  (MSA S 1259-131-299))

• New heating plant built, old razed.
• Alterations in original building - base, windows and the portico.
• December 19 -  Report from Baldwin and Pennington to Murray Vandiver.  (MSA 1137-1)
• Includes: bill for "Outside lamps at the curb line and wiring for same, outside lans for large portico";  "painting front porch"; "wiring lighting of dome inside and out"
• report that "the gutters and spouts, cornice, valleys, etc. have been repaired"
• report that "a fireplace and chimney have been built in the old Senate and the Governor's Reception room and continued through the roof.  Similar fireplace and chimney have also been built into the Governor's Office."
• 9 April (1905?) - "State House Restoration" "[Special dispatch to the Baltimore Sun.] Annapolis, Md., April 9. - Along with the work of restoring the old portion of the State House to its original appearance Governor Warfield has had the windows taken out and small square-paned sashes substitued.  The double-paned sashes which have been removed were placed in the building in 1876.  The smaller panes make a marked change in keeping with the colonial appearance of the building." (kept with MSA SC 182-02-0086)

• Land Office (large two story brick building at foot of State House directly opposite the west end of MD Ave. [Tilghman 36]) torn down after two apparent years of vacancy.  (See General Assembly Files)

•  "[The] massive granite gate posts now _____ in front of the Clau_e Flats on _______ east side of the State Circle, for ______ ___ at the main gateway at the _____  Francis street, directly in front ________________ The stone slabs which _________ the granite wall an in which ________ of the fence were inserted _________________________________ College Creek, at the foot of ___ which stands the beautiful Na-_____  ("The Old State House[...]" The Baltimore Sun, 1907)  (MSA S 2852)
• Placement of a fountain at the Francis Street Entrance?? (State House Grounds Rehabilitation Proposal January 24, 1990)  (MSA SC 1706)

• ". . . as far as the triangular plot on which a French "75" stood between the First and Second World Wars." (Radoff, Buildings of the State of Maryland in Annapolis,  126)
• The French 75, officially known as the 75 mm Field Gun, Model of 1897 (French) , was issued to National Guard units after America's entrance into WWI (information about French 75 from http://www.hsgng.org/pages/french75.htm)

• German Howitzer on lawn, (captured during the First World War)  [Wilder, "Discovering Maryland: Old Colonial Air Preserved at Annapolis[...],"Times-Herald  -- (MSA SC 1456-1009), 0-10-7-70]

• Governor McKeldin had the walk around the State House built and the wall repaired. Contracts, Change Orders and correspondence regarding improvements to the walls and walk around State Circle.  (MSA S 42-270, MSA S 42-271)
• Current light fixtures placed in approx. location of 1934 plan.  (?MSA S 1259-121-1706 -863)
• '[R]eplacement of walks and retaining wall around the circle in 1957. The paving seems to have utilized the curbing installed in 1882 and the layout of this curbing at the entrances to the grounds is evident on the plans for the walks in 1957.  These were taken up and replaced with straight sections of curbing at that time.  The basket weave appears to have been introduced in 1957 and is found nowhere else in the city.  The site disturbance associated without his work appears to have been substantial.  All the retaining walls were replaced at this time as were the stairs, and the walks.  The present benches do not appear to have been part of this plan.' (MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

• Large modification of the grounds - removal of shrubbery and addition of four magnolia trees. (MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

• Installation of a sprinkler system for the grounds (?MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

• More planting - dogwoods, etc? (?MSA S 1259-121-1706-863)

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