The First State Capitol is located in Belmont which is essentially halfway between Dodgeville and Platteville. We are usually down in that part of the state at least once year. However, the first capitol is only open Saturday and Sundays from June 1 to September 1. Hello that is baseball season. There's not usually a lot of time to plan a quick jaunt down to other side of the state.
Since Belmont is on the way to Davenport, we stopped on way down to the River Bandits game. The First State Capitol is ran by the Wisconsin Historical Society and has free admission. It is not far off highway 151, just a few miles down a country road.
There are two buildings to the First Capitol -- the Court House and the Council House. They were moved slightly from their original locations to where they sit today. The Court House tells about early Wisconsin History and the Council House is set up to look like the Council House would have been back in the mid 1800's.
While everything in the Court House is pretty much original, the desks in the Council House are reproductions as students were ruining the originals. The stove and one other piece are originals though.
I learned some interesting pieces of Wisconsin History but wasn't overly impressed by either building.
They are worth seeing but I am not sure driving the 3 hours just to see them would be worth it. If you are in the area between June and August, go ahead and check them out but don't make a special trip just to see them.
No comments:
Post a Comment