Statehouse cornerstone was laid in Columbus amid great fanfare

A thing that one might notice about the people who settled in the new state of Ohio in the wake of the American Revolution is that those folks were unfailingly optimistic about themselves.

Ohio was named a state in 1803, and its first capital was in the frontier village of Chillicothe. That area once had been home to generations of Native Americans and was at the time the home of several legislative leaders. But the town apparently was a bit too far south for several legislators. So the capital was moved to Zanesville for a brief time until a new home was created for a capital city called Columbus.

Founded with great enthusiasm by its local “proprietors,” the new town grew quite slowly after its founding in 1812. Then the Ohio and Erie Canal and the National Road arrived in 1831, and by 1834, a village of 2,000 people had become a city of 5,000.

While all this was happening, it was becoming increasingly clear that the brick statehouse on Statehouse Square was becoming too small and modest for a rapidly growing state. To solve the problem, the Ohio General Assembly did what it often did and appointed a three-man commission to address it.

The commission announced a capital design contest, and 60 entries were submitted. In the end, first prize was won by Henry Walter of Cincinnati, with a second prize to Martin Thompson of New York and a third to Thomas Cole of Catskill, New York.

Elements of the work of all three were used in the final design of the new capital building – and a truly astonishing building it would be. A new capital building with its massive stone columns and cylindrical dome, it would be second only to the U.S. Capitol in size and grandeur, and this coming from a state that had existed only for a single generation or so. But it was a state that was growing rapidly in size and influence, and it was filled with people with great confidence in their future.

On July 4, 1839, that confidence was shown when the cornerstone of the new building was laid. Columbus was a town of about 6,000 at this time. On this day, a crowd estimated at more than 6,000 had gathered in, around and about Statehouse Square. They saw quite a show.

An early history of Columbus described the events of the day: “The day of the ceremony was ushered in with an artillery salute and a burst of martial music. The weather was propitious. Three military companies had arrived the previous evening before from Lancaster. … After passing over the route mapped out for it, the procession, which was very large for those days, entered the Capitol Square.