To see how each state developed its own capitols, the links immediately below will take you to the first entry for each state. Then you can click on the double arrowheads by the years to follow each state's capitol history through all five pages of this timeline.

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Early National Capitols and Washington, D.C.

1610 »
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Provincial Capitol,
Territorial Capitol
Palace of the Governors;
Spain, Mexico, Arizona capitol
from 1610 to 1680
and 1696 to 1886;
Still Stands as a museum.

1628 »
Salem Towne, Massachusetts

First Meeting House
Massachusetts Bay Colony;
Used for religious, governmental,
and public meetings.

« 1657 »
Boston, Massachusetts

Town House
Massachusetts Bay Colony
Offices, meeting hall upstairs;
Market downstairs;
Burned in 1711.

1668 »
New Haven, Connecticut

First New Haven Meeting House
Used for religious, governmental,
and public meetings.

« 1683 »
Plymouth, Massachusetts

Second Meeting House
Plymouth Colony;
Used for religious, governmental,
and public meetings;
Demolished 1747.

1685 »
Burlington,
West New Jersey

First Meeting House
Used for religious, governmental,
and public meetings;
Used for meetings until 1716;
Stood for a century.

1695 »
Annapolis, Maryland

First Colonial Capitol
Burned in 1704.

1699 »
New York City, New York

Colonial Capitol
Remodeled and renamed
Federal Hall in 1788 for
Federal Government use;
1790 returned to city use;
Demolished in 1812.

1703 »
Williamsburg, Virginia

Colonial Statehouse
Used as capitol 1705 to 1747;
Burned in 1747;
Reconstructed 1932-34 in
Colonial Williamsburg project.

« 1712 »
Boston, Massachusetts

Colonial State House
Massachusetts Colony;
First State Capitol
Used as State House to 1798;
Commercial use 1798 to 1830;
Boston City Hall 1830-1840;
Commercial use 1840 to 1880;
Still Stands as a museum
of Boston history.

« 1717 »
Perth Amboy,
East New Jersey

Court House
Used for Assembly until 1775;
Then jail, church, school, more;
City Hall since 1872;
Parts stand in current City Hall.

« 1720 »
Hartford, Connecticut

First Hartford
Colonial State House
Badly burned in 1783;
Demolished in 1828.

1731 »
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Colonial Capitol
1735 to 1776;
First State House
1776 to 1783;
Original drawing shown;
Tower & steeple added in 1750.

1736 »
Newport, Rhode Island

Rotating State House
from 1741 to 1901
Newport County Courthouse;
Known as Old Colony House;
Still stands as a museum
and for rental for events.

« 1750 »
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

First State House
1750 tower and steeple shown;
US Capitol
off & on 1775 to 1788;
Known as Independence Hall;
Still Stands.

« 1751 »
Williamsburg, Virginia

Second Williamsburg
State House
Used as capitol 1753 to 1779;
Then used as a courthouse,
Schools, military hospital;
Demolished and burned in
Stages from 1793 to 1881.

1753 »
Portsmouth,
New Hampshire

First State House
Completed as shown 1769;
Colonial Capitol 1758 to 1774;
Some government use to 1809;
Then Rockingham County Courthouse;
Eventually dismantled.

1753 »
Charleston, South Carolina

Colonial State House
Completed as shown in 1756;
Used as capitol 1756 to 1788;
Burned in 1788.

« 1756 »
Princetown, New Jersey

First State Capitol
Built as Nassau Hall to house
the College of natural history;
Used as capitol 1776 to 1790;
National Capitol part of 1783;
Now part of Princeton University.

1759 »
St. Augustine, Florida

Spanish Colonial Capitol,
British Colonial Capitol,
American Territorial Capitol
Used as capitol 1706 to 1824;
1759 renovations shown;
Courthouse, Offices to 1891;
Post Office until 1965;
Still stands as a museum.

1750
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Frequent Early Seat of Congress
Pennsylvania State House
Known as Independence Hall;
Used for Congress many times
between 1775 and 1788.

1770
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

First Seat of Congress
Known as Carpenter's Hall;
Meeting place for the First Continental Congress in 1774;
Several uses since;
Still stands in Independence National Historic Park.

1776
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Frequent Early Seat of Congress
Pennsylvania State House
Known as Independence Hall;
Sheds added to ends of wings
in 1776 shown.

1781
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Frequent Early Seat of Congress
Pennsylvania State House
Known as Independence Hall;
Steeple removed due to rot
in 1781 shown;
Used as State House to 1783.

1787
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Second Federal Capitol
Philadelphia County
Court House
Named Congress Hall in 1790;
National Capitol 1790 to 1800; Still stands in Independence National Historic Park.

1788 »
New York, New York

First Federal Capitol
New York City Hall
Known as Federal Hall;
Remodel for Federal use shown;
Used as Capitol 1788 to 1790;
Returned to city use;
Demolished in 1812.

1761 »
New Orleans, Louisiana

French District Capitol
Spanish Colonial Capitol
Orleans Territorial Capitol
First Louisiana State Capitol
Known as Government House;
Used as French and Spanish Capitols with the Cabildo;
Used as capitol 1761 to 1828;
Burned in 1828.

« 1763 »
New Haven, Connecticut

Second New Haven
Colonial State House,
First New Haven
State Co-capitol
Co-capitol 1763 to 1831;
Replaced in 1831.

1765 »
New Castle, Delaware

Colonial Capitol
Center section built in 1732;
1765 Wing addition shown;
Capitol until 1777;
Still stands as New Castle
Court House Museum.

1767 »
New Bern, North Carolina

Colonial Capitol
First State House
Used as capitol 1770 to 1794;
Most burned 1798;
Rented, then torn down;
Reconstructed, reopened
as a museum in 1959.

« 1771 »
Annapolis, Maryland

Third Colonial Capitol
Current State House
Near completion as shown in 1779.

ca 1777 »
Windsor, Vermont

Old Constitution House
Previously Elijah West's Tavern;
State Delegates wrote their Constitution there in 1777;
Still stands as a
State Historic Site.

« 1785
Annapolis, Maryland

Current State House
Building designed 1771;
1785 dome addition shown;
Completed in 1797.

ca 1785 »
Greeneville, Tennessee

State of Franklin Capitol
Used as capitol 1785 to 1789;
Dismantled for display in
Nashville for Centennial;
Never returned to Greeneville;
1966 Greeneville replica shown.

« 1786 »
Columbia, South Carolina

Second State House
Used as capitol 1790 to 1865;
Burned in 1865 by Union Army.

« 1787 »
Dover, Delaware

First Dover State House
Built to be the State House
And Kent County Courthouse;
Original structure shown here.

« 1790 »
Trenton, New Jersey

Current State House
Completed as shown in 1795.

« 1792 »
Hartford, Connecticut

First Hartford State Co-capitol
Completed as shown in 1796;
Used as capitol 1796 to 1879;
Then Hartford City Hall.

« 1792 »
Raleigh, North Carolina

Second State House
First used in 1794;
Completed as shown in 1796.

« ca 1792 »
Knoxville, Tennessee

Territorial Capitol
First State Capitol
Used as capitol 1792 to 1812;
Capitol claim disputed;
Fate undiscovered.

1793 »
Frankfort, Kentucky

First State Capitol
Used as Capitol 1794 to 1813;
Burned in 1813.

« 1793
Washington,
Territory of Columbia

Current Federal Capitol
Dr. William Thornton design;
Constructed in stages;
First occupied in 1800
before completion.

1793
Washington,
Territory of Columbia

Temporary Federal Capitol
Known as Blodgett's Hotel;
Used for Senate 1814 to 1815;
Destroyed by fire in 1836.

1797 »
Washington,
Territory of Columbia

Current Federal Capitol
Dr. William Thornton redesign;
Second dome never added.

« 1794 »
Richmond, Virginia

Current State Capitol
First used in 1788;
Redesigned in 1794 and
completed as shown in 1798.

« 1795 »
New Orleans, Louisiana

Spanish Colonial Capitol
French District Capitol
Known as the Cabildo;
Used as capitol 1799 to 1803;
Then City, Territorial, State uses, and many others;
Still stands with third floor as Louisiana State Museum.

« 1795 »
Boston, Massachusetts

Current State House
Completed as shown in 1798.

« 1795 »
Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Temporary State House
Built as City Hall;
Used as capitol 1799 to 1812;
Then multiple uses;
Restored in 1924;
Still stands as Visitors' Center.

1800 »
Lahaina, Hawai'i

Kingdom Capitol
Used as capitol 1820 to 1845;
Then as a warehouse, storage
Room, and meeting house;
Date of destruction unknown;
Site marked with plaque, layout.

1800 »
Chillicothe, Ohio

Territorial Capitol,
First State Capitol
Built as Ross County Courthouse;
Capitol 1803-1810, 1812-1816;
Then County Courthouse again;
Burned in 1852.

« 1803 »
East Greenwich,
Rhode Island

Rotating State House
from 1803 to 1854;
Kent County Courthouse;
Still stands as
East Greenwich Town Hall.

1805 »
Milledgeville, Georgia

Second State Capitol
Used as capitol 1807 to 1868;
Then Baldwin County Courthouse;
Still stands as Georgia Military College Since 1879.

ca 1805 »
Kaskaskia, Illinois

Territorial Capitol
First State Capitol
Used as capitol 1812 to 1820;
Destroyed by Mississippi River 1901.

« 1808 »
Montpelier, Vermont

First State House
Used as capitol 1808 to 1832;
Replaced in 1833, torn down.

Timeline pages:     1610 - 1808     1809 - 1838     1839 - 1866     1867 - 1901     1902 - 2003

Timeline Index