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Senator Faber’s Weekly Newsletter
January 31, 2011
The Ohio Statehouse
celebrates its Sesquicentennial
1861 to 2011
150 years of serving as
the heart of Ohio democracy!
The people of Ohio will celebrate the sesquicentennial of the Ohio
Statehouse in Columbus throughout 2011. Completed in 1861, the
Statehouse has served as the heart of Ohio democracy for the last 150
years. Throughout the state, our Capitol Building stands as a
symbol of the legislative and executive branches of state government,
and the people of Ohio.
You are invited to celebrate the Ohio Statehouse and all that it stands
for by attending a variety of special events, re-enactments and
exhibits that will celebrate the sesquicentennial of our great Capitol
Building. The events will commemorate the lasting legacy and history of
the Ohio Statehouse. Through educational programs, public forums, arts
projects and special events, the Ohio Statehouse Sesquicentennial will
provide an opportunity for all Ohioans to learn about the history of
the building, events and the people who have come to serve.
Visit www.OhioStatehouse.org for more information about the Ohio
Statehouse Sesquicentennial celebration and a list of special events.
Before Columbus and a New
Statehouse…
The town of Chillicothe served as Ohio’s first capital city from 1803
to 1809 before the Ohio Legislature moved the capital to Zanesville. In
1812, Chillicothe was once again chosen to serve as the capital.
The legislature quickly decided that the permanent capital should be
centrally located. In 1816, a 10-acre parcel of land in the
Franklinton area on the west side of the Scioto River was selected as
the site for the new capital. The land was donated by John Kerr,
Lyne Starling, John Johnston and Alexander McLaughlin, four prominent
landholders.
A small brick building was constructed at the corner of State and High
Streets and served as Columbus’ first Statehouse. By the 1830s,
discussions began to construct a new Statehouse to serve the growing
population of the new state. Early Ohioans wanted a new Capitol
building to serve as a symbol of the state’s democratic form of
government. The legislature created the Statehouse Act of 1838,
creating a commission to conduct a competition to select a design for a
new building to be built on the massive 10-acre public square in the
heart of the new capital city.
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