First Capitol Building and Boarding House - Leslie, WI
N 42° 46.107 W 090° 21.752
15T E 715787 N 4738475
In 1836, the Territory of Wisconsin Legislature met in the First Capitol building and used the boarding house for lodging during their first session. Later both of these buildings were moved elsewhere and then returned here.
Waymark Code: WM5J20
Location: Wisconsin, United States
Date Posted: 01/11/2009
Views: 10
From the Wisconsin First Capitol web site (
visit link) :
"The First Capitol site features two buildings used during the 1836 Territorial Legislative session. The first was the Council House where the legislators met. The second building was a lodging house for the legislators.
Both structures were eventually used as residences. The lodging house became the residence of territorial Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Dunn. Both were later converted to livestock barns.
In 1910 the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs began raising funds for the restoration of the buildings. In 1924 the Council House was moved to its current site and restored. In 1956 the lodging house was moved to the site and restored."
The marker reads:
"BELMONT
WISCONSIN TERRITORY
1836
When Governor Henry Dodge addressed the joint session of the Legislature here on October 25, 1836, the Territory of Wisconsin included all of the present day Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and part of the two Dakotas. The population was about equally divided east and west of the Mississippi. There was so much criticism of Gov. Dodge's choice of Belmont as the Territorial Capital that he immediately offered to accept any location decided upon by a majority of the representatives. A bitter contest developed with the Dubuque and Burlington (Iowa) delegations finally joining the Eastern Wisconsin group to move the capital for one year to Burlington and thence permanently to Madison. The briefly booming village of Belmont quickly declined. When the railroad by-passed it about two miles to the southeast many of the residents moved their buildings to "new" Belmont.
Erected 1957"
The marker reads:
"GOVERNOR TOMMY G. THOMPSON'S 1998 ADDRESS AT WISCONSIN'S FIRST CAPITOL
On January 14, 1998, Governor Tommy G. Thompson addressed the Wisconsin Assembly at Wisconsin's First Territorial Capitol in Belmont in honor of the Sesquicentennial of Statehood. Serving more terms than any other governor in the history of Wisconsin, Governor Thompson addressed the ninety-nine member Assembly noting that this was the second time he had been part of governmental proceedings at Belmont. In 1991, he convened a cabinet meeting at the First Capitol. Dressed in period clothing and arriving by carriage on this cold January day, Governor Thompson lauded the historic leadership of the people of Wisconsin, in endeavors such as auto racing, milk-testing, conservation, education, anti-discrimination laws, social reform, and entertainment---and remarked that Wisconsinites invented the outboard motor, the typewriter, the hamburger, and malted milk. The Governor concluded by praising Wisconsin's outstanding efforts in the nation's wars and declaring a new era of Wisconsin leadership. "Our role is neither to lead people to water nor to make them drink, but rather to make them thirsty. And may the people of Wisconsin's thirst to be the leaders of this great nation never be quenched."
Erected 2000"