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Overview

Carpenter William Holden Willson (1805-1856), who originally platted the City of Salem, OR, in 1846, sold Block #84 to the State of OR as the site of its territorial capitol. The capitol was built of wood in 1854, and the OR Territorial Legislature occupied the building very briefly in 12/1854, before it relocated to Corvallis the next year.

Building History

Between 1844-1855, four Oregon Territory cities vied for the privilege of being the territorial capitol, Oregon City, Corvallis, Eugene and Salem. The fight for the seat was bitter. Salem finally managed to lay claim and build a capitol building, but arsonists burned it down just before its completion. It was not until 1864 (five years after statehood) that the dispute was settled and Salem was again redesignated as the capitol. Nesmith's Building and the Holman Building in Salem functioned as the interim capitols between statehood in 1859 and the construction of another governmental seat in 1876.

A letter dated 12/27/1854 from Salem businessman and Democratic politician Eli Mosely Barnum (1824-1881) to the military man and pro-Confederate Joseph Lane (1801-1881), first Territorial Governor of Oregon, discussed the state of the new territorial capitol: "Enclosed I send you a [copy of] the Report of the Commissioners [page torn] the erection of Public Buildings [and the] Capitol of Oregon, which may be of service to you, in addition to the estimates and expenditures, which I have given you in former letters, for procuring an additional appropriation. You will see by this that the estimates are made for $45,000 to complete the State House with dome, and that in the account no mention is made of the sums heretofore appropriated by Congress. The amount of drafts $19,898.87 have been drawn from the $20,000 brought here by Gov. Davis. Of the $5000, originally received and partly expended by Gov [john Pollard] Gaines [1795-1857], no account is made by the Commissioners, as the expenditures by Gaines were outside of the actions of the Commissioners and the [amount] paid by him to Rector is virtually lost and Mr. Rector still claims the remaining $2500 upon his contract with Gov Gaines by reason of his damages (claimed to be sustained) in the contract not being carried out. That contract you understand was arrested and annulled by the Resolution of the Legislature of Jany 30th 1854 [instructing] the Commissioners to build of wood [instead] of stone. The Gaines Contract being adapted to the stone work could not be used in the Building of wood as now made. The two Legislative Halls were so far completed as to admit of the Session being held in the Building this winter. The Legislature have adjourned for the Hollidays [sic], and it is generally believed that in the interim arrangements are perfecting to pass a Bill removing the Capitol to Corvallis and the University to the Umpqua. A large delegation of members favorable to the measure have gone to Corvallis in the vacation." (See email from E.M. Barnum to Joseph Lane, 12/27/1854, Joseph Lane Papers, OHS Mss 1146, Oregon Historical Society Research Library. Thank you to Ben Truwe, of medfordhistory.com, who sent this message to the author on 11/05/2017.)

As the letter indicated, the first plan, drawn up by A.W. Ferguson, called for a load-bearing masonry building with a simple gable roof, ashlar walls and a stone foundation. One end, facing West toward Willson Avenue, had a templar front, with two columns located in antis. The actual costs of building a masonry building with a lantern exceeded appropriations, and the territorial legislature reinstructed designer Ferguson and building contractor, William H. Rector, to redesign the building using a timber frame and walls. As the letter indicated, the

Buidling Notes

This Greek Revival structure was never finished and the territorial government never occupied it before its destruction by fire.

Demolition

The Oregon Territorial Capitol #3 was demolished by fired on 12/29/1855. Initial suspicions led some to believe that an arsonist set the blaze; this was suspected due to the rancor over the siting of the capitol. Historians Paul Porter and Susan Gibby wrote: "Although arson was suspected, a formal inquiry proved that the fire was not intentionally set. Whatever the cause, the statehouse, the territorial library, and its furnishings were destroyed." (See Paul Porter and Susan Gibby, Salem Online History, "Oregon State Capitol and the Capitol Mall," accessed 11/06/2017.)

PCAD id: 14671