West Virginia's capitol buildings. Spoiler alert, there were more than you probably think
Our capitols
As I mentioned before when I wrote about the Wheeling conventions, our original Capitol was in Wheeling, WV. It was in the Linsly Institute building. This was viewed as a temporary Capitol. This building served as the state Capitol from June 20th, 1863- April 1st, 1870.The Linsly Institue building was built in 1858 and is still a Wheeling landmark.
Something more permanent was needed, so in 1870, the state Legislature decided Charleston would be the permanent seat. The building was started in 1869 and completed in 1870, located at what is now Capitol Street (Capitol Street was called sixth street prior to the Capitol building being there) and Lee Street. It was built by the state house company, a corporation, which was led by John P. Hale, a prominent Charlestonian. It is said that John ended up paying for much of the project himself. The building was leased to the state by the state house company. John did all this before becoming Mayor of Charleston in 1871.
Hale was a Physician but also dabbled in several other industries, including salt, coal/ timber. He also introduced the first brick making machinery in the Kanawha Valley, he introduced the first steam ferry, he helped organize the “bank of the west” in Charleston, he started the Hale House hotel, which was Charleston’s first luxury hotel, which was intended for the state delegates staying in Charleston but it burned down in 1885, there is currently a restaurant by the same name on Hale Street, he also did a lot to help the Confederate army during the civil war. He was also a historian and author. There's probably a lot of other things that he did, Dr. Hale did a lot for the Kanawha Valley. He died in 1902. Hale street is of course named for Dr. Hale.
Five years later in 1875, the legislature voted to return the seat of government to Wheeling. This time the city of Wheeling actually built a building specifically for the Capitol, but until it was finished, the Linsly building yet again served as the Capitol.
A statewide vote was held between Martinsburg, Clarksburg and Charleston. In the fall of 1877, Governor John J. Jacob, who was our fourth Governor, announced that Charleston would once again be the Capital of West Virginia. The second capitol building in Charleston would be built on the same site as the first, ownership of the first building had been transferred to the state by the state house company. The new building incorporated the first. It was completed in 1885 and all the state records were moved by boat to Charleston.
On January 3rd, 1921, the building burned down. No one knows for sure how the fire got started, but there have been several speculations and rumors over the years. It was a tall, gothic style building with a 194 foot clock tower. The smoke was roaring from the upper floor. The Charleston Fire Department sent in every available fireman. Guns and ammunition purchased by the state police for use in the WV coal wars, which had been going on since 1912 and would come to a head in the Battle of Blair Mountain later in 1921, were being stored in the attic of the Capitol. The thousands of rounds of ammunition started to discharge. Firefighters and people who were helping to evacuate the building or save records were sent running and taking cover.as the bullets flew. Miraculously, no one was hit by a bullet. Unfortunately, one soul was lost that day. Charles Walker, a firefighter, was crushed to death by a fire weakened wall. Several others were injured. Not much was left after the fire completely gutted the interior and destroyed the roof. Today, a memorial is at the corner of Capitol Street and Lee Street.
They say you can still hear the noises of firefighters trying to put the blaze out if you’re there around midnight. Legend is, you’ll hear the sounds of chains clanking, hoses being dragged, water being sprayed and voices yelling. You might even smell the distinct smell of charred wood and smoke.
A couple months after the fire, a temporary building was completed at the future site of the Daniel Boone Hotel, which was also on Capitol Street. That building became known as the “pasteboard Capitol”. The Pasteboard Capitol ultimately suffered the same fate as it’s predecessor. March 2nd, 1927, a fire broke out and burned through the building in only half an hour. Again, the fire was of unknown origin.
A State Capitol Commission was created after the burning of the Capitol building in 1921, in an extraordinary session of the state legislature. The purpose of the Capitol Commission was to find a location for a complex to serve the needs of the government. A spot was chosen on Charleston’s East End and architect Cass Gilbert was chosen to design the Capitol. Gilbert was a famous architect who designed the Woolworth building in New York (not to be confused with the Woolworth building in Charleston that burned down in 1949) and he designed the Supreme Court building in Washington DC. Constuction started in 1924 and was completed in 1932. The west wing was started January 7th, 1924 and completed in March of 1925, the east wing was built between July of 1926 and December of 1927 and the main building, with the dome, was started March of 1930 and was completed in February of 1932, it was officially dedicated on West Virginia day, June 20th, 1932 . The building has a distinct gold dome. The dome resembles the Dome of our Nations Capitol, but the WV dome is actually about 5 feet taller at 293 feet tall. The complex is 18 acres and includes not only the three part Capitol building and Governor's mansion but also the Holly grove mansion, which was built by Daniel Ruffner in 1815. It also includes the state cultural center.
It is also worth mentioning that the Governor's mansion that’s in the Capitol complex isn’t the original Governor’s mansion. The current governor’s mansion or executive mansion was built in 1924- 1925 by Charleston architect Walter F. Martens. It was built during the term of E. F. Morgan. In my opinion it is a beautiful place.
The original mansion was on Capitol Street, it was built in 1887 by a clothing merchant named Gustave Jelenko. He sold it to the state in 1893. Before this the Governors were expected to house themselves. Eight Governors lived in this mansion, the first of which was William MacCorkle, for which MacCorkle avenue is named.
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