TERRITORIAL

BEGINNINGS

works to enact or execute laws.The legislative branch makesthe laws; they might make newor change old laws. Thelegislature is comprised ofsenators and representatives.The judicial branch interpretslaws and settles disputes. Thetrial and appeals courtsinterpret laws in criminal andcivil trials. The Supreme Courtof Idaho is the state’s highestcourt.

Idaho’s Territorial Capitol

President AbrahamLincoln signed the act

creating Idaho Territory in1863. The territorial capitalmoved from Lewiston to Boise

contracts, and approve archi-tectural plans for Idaho’s State

TERRITORIAL

BEGINNINGS

in 1865. In 1886, at a costof $80,000, the TerritorialCapitol building wascompleted. TheNorman-style buildingwas made of red brick,had five floors, and hadno indoor plumbing.The Territorial Capitolwas razed forconstruction of the eastwing of the new StateCapitol.

Idaho became the 43rdstate in the Union in 1890;President Benjamin Harrisonwas in office at the time. In1905 the Idaho State Legislaturecreated the Capitol BuildingCommission with the power toissue bonds, negotiate and sign

Capitol. The commissionwas responsible foracquiring the site andoverseeing constructionof the building.

Idaho’s Constitutiongives our state three

branches ofgovernment.For manyyears, all threehad offices inthe Capitol.The executive

branch carries out thelaws. With sevenelected officers,including theGovernor, andseventeen depart-ments, this branch

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CONSTRUCTION

OF OUR

STATE CAPITOL

The design, acquisition ofmaterials, and construction

of Idaho’s capitol wasconducted over a 15-yearperiod. The first phase ofconstruction began in 1905 and

CONSTRUCTION

OF OUR

STATE CAPITOL

J. E. Tourtellotte surveys the cityfrom the State Capitol.

contracted to design the wingsfor the building. Constructionon the wings began in 1919 andwas completed in 1920. TheCentral School building wasdemolished to make way forthe west wing, much as theTerritorial Capitol building wasrazed for construction of theeast wing.

included the central portion ofthe State Capitol and the dome.

Described by architect J. E.Tourtellotte as neoclassic, it ispatterned after the UnitedStates Capitol in Washington,D.C. When the central sectionand dome were completed in1912, Tourtellotte and CharlesHummel of Boise were

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A SOLID

FOUNDATION

A SOLID

FOUNDATION

The building’s deepfoundation rests upon river

gravel more than 15 feet belowground. The concrete founda-tion holds a granite base whichwas shipped from Vermont.Barre (pronounced berry)granite has large grain, is hard,and has a notable salt-and-pepper appearance. Nativesandstone from nearby TableRock is the material used formost of the superstructure.Sandstone blocks weighing upto ten tons were transported byIdaho Penitentiaryconvicts from thestate-owned TableRock quarry.

Above: gang sawcutting stone for thecentral portion of theCapitol building.

Right: Nick Sionisand his State Capitolconstruction crew,1904-1905.

These tools belongedto a mason whoworked on the StateCapitol.

MARBLE

AND SCAGLIOLA

cost and weight. An imitationform of the stone came into use.This special art was crafted forthe Capitol’s columns by anItalian family who traveled toIdaho from New York. In 1976,the pillars were repaired bydrilling holes and injecting aliquid adhesive. A polyure-thane finish was then appliedto the surface for protection.

The sixty-foot-high columns areadorned with Corinthiancapitals featuring acanthusleaves. Doric and Ioniccolumns are also foundthroughout the building. Thethree styles represent differenttime periods of Greekarchitecture.

Four different types ofmarble were used in

creating the interior of Idaho’sState Capitol. The red marbleis from Georgia, while the blackyou see is Italian marble. Thegreen swirled marbledecorating the walls is fromVermont, and the grey marblecomes from Alaska. You maybe surprised to learn the pillarsare not made of marble at all!Rather they are composed ofscagliola (pronouncedskalyola)—a mixture ofgypsum and glue, marble dustand granite dyed to look likemarble. Scagliola came from aspecial plastering art whichoriginated in Italy during thesixteenth century. Polishedmarble was popular forbuilding interiors; however, itwas inconvenient to use due to

MARBLE

AND SCAGLIOLA

Doric Ionic

1ST FLOORThere are many impressivefeatures to be seen on the

first floor of the State Capitol,such as the symbolic sundial.Designed and donated by GysJansen van Beek, the sundialsymbolizes Idaho’s abundanceof natural resources and itsmajor industries.

• The statue of a miner, entitled“The Patriot,” wassculpted with awelding torch byminer KennethLonn of the SilverValley. It is dedi-cated to the menand women ofIdaho’s miningindustry in memoryof the 91 minerswho lost their livesin the 1972Sunshine Minedisaster. The statueis on loan from the

• Step into the center of therotunda on the ground floor,and look upward to view thebreathtaking interior of thedome. Look down to see thecompass rose beneath yourfeet.

• The office of the StateTreasurer is in the east wing.An original vault containing a

large safe made bythe Manganese SteelSafe Co. of NewYork is still in use.Legislative Servicesalso occupies officespace in the eastwing. The Divisionof FinancialManagementoccupies officeslocated in the westwing.

1ST FLOOR

Bunker Hill Mining Companyin northern Idaho.

• Displays located in the eastand west wings of the first floorhighlight the diversity of thestate and the talents of itspeople.

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2ND FLOORAfter walking up the stairs,you will see an equestrian

statue of George Washington.This beautiful statue, crafted byGerman immigrant CharlesOstner, was carved from pine.According to popular folklore,it took Ostner four years tocarve the figure using apostage-stamp likeness ofWashington as reference. Thestatue was painted bronze andpresented to the Territory ofIdaho in 1869. It stood ondisplay on the Capitol groundsuntil 1934 when it was broughtinside to prevent furtherweather damage. It wasrefinished, covered with goldleaf, and placed in its glass casein 1966.

Moving around the rotunda,you will see a replica of the“Winged Victory ofSamothrace.” The originalmarble statue was found on the

2ND FLOOR

gifts to the capital cities in theUnited States. The “MerciTrain” gifts were a gesture ofthanks to the U.S. from Francefollowing World War II.Idaho’s “Merci Train” giftswere distributed among thestate’s 44 counties. The boxcaritself is on exhibit at the OldIdaho Penitentiary.

island of Samothrace in theAegean Sea in 1863 and isestimated to have beensculpted around 300 B.C. Itnow stands in the Louvre inParis, France. In 1949, Francesent 49 box cars laden with

The George Washington statue dedication is shown in this drawing byCharles Ostner, in the white hat at right below the statue.

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2ND FLOORThe Governor’s suite ofoffices is located in the west

wing on the second floor of theState Capitol. The Governor’sofficial portrait may be seenhere. A portrait gallery of allprevious governors of the stateis displayed in the hallwayoutside the offices.

Notice the display on the wallopposite the offices.It holds flags repre-senting Idahoregiments in Franceduring World War I.Each flag was carriedin a different offen-sive. Also on thisside of the hall is a displaycontaining a setting of theGovernor’s official china. All26 place settings of the china,silver, and crystal were donatedto the state by various groupsand individuals.

The Lieutenant Governor’soffice is located in the westwing opposite the Governor’soffice. Flags flown by the FirstRegiment Idaho Infantry in thePhilippines during the SpanishAmerican War are presented inthis office. The flag with the

blue background anda seal similar to ourstate’s was designedby these soldiers and

Exteriordamage fromthe 1992 fire.

2ND FLOOR

of offices. These offices wereused by the Idaho SupremeCourt until the new SupremeCourt building and librarywere built in 1970. A devastat-ing fire occurred in this portionof the Capitol on January 1,1992. Nearly all of theAttorney General’s suite wasdestroyed. Restoration of theoffices took two and a halfyears. Great attention wasgiven to reproducing all of thebuilding elements withhistorical accuracy. Mahogany

woodworkand decora-tive plastercornices arepresentthroughoutthe struc-ture.

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was the inspirationfor the Idaho flag.

The office of theSecretary of State is in theeast wing. The “officialcopy” of the Great Seal of theState of Idaho is kept in thereception area.

The second floor also housesthe Attorney General’s suite

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3RD FLOOROn the third floor of theState Capitol are the

legislative chambers, the Senatein the west wing and the Houseof Representatives in the eastwing. Committee rooms andoffices surround each chamber.

The House has 70 membersand the Senate has 35 members.All are elected for two-year

minute news during thelegislative session. TheInformation Center alsooversees distribution ofinformation from the public tothe legislators. Pages workfrom this location.

The 1929-30 Idaho Judicial Council meets in theSupreme Court Chamber.

terms. The legislature is insession three months each year.

The large room on the northside of the rotunda oncehoused the Idaho SupremeCourt Chamber. It is now thecommittee room for the Joint

Finance-AppropriationsCommittee. Thedark green marbleand mahoganybench at the frontof the room wasoriginally the seatof the SupremeCourt justices.

On the south side,the InformationCenter allows thepublic and mediato find up-to-the-

The first women were elected tothe Idaho Legislature in 1898.

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3RD FLOOR

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674TH FLOORBalcony entrances to the

Senate and House galleriesare located on the fourth floor.The gallery areas are usuallyopen to the public and providean interesting view of ourlawmakers at work. Theannual session begins in earlyJanuary and usually continuesthrough March. Hallwaysleading to the galleries are

lined with photographs of pastIdaho legislators. The fourthfloor also houses meetingrooms for committees andlegislative staff.

In the rotunda area of thefourth floor are the Idaho

The Idaho House chamber oncehad drapes covering the spacebeneath the gallery; now this areais walled off.

4TH FLOOR

Historic Statehouse Muralstitled “A Legend of Dreams.”These murals pay tribute tocommunities and individualswho have shaped the state’shistory and culture. Usingsymbols, the murals tell Idaho’sstory—past, present, andfuture. Interpretive signs arelocated next to each mural.

Artist Dana Boussard usedpainted fabric to create theStatehouse murals.

PLANTS

OF DISTINCTION

ON THE CAPITOL

GROUNDS

ON THE CAPITOL

GROUNDS

Steunenberg, who served Idahofrom 1897 to 1900. He wasassassinated in 1905. The peopleof Idaho dedicated the monumentin 1927 in grateful memory of hisdevotion to public duty.

4. At the bottom of the ceremonialentrance staircase is areplica of the LibertyBell. It was presentedto Idaho as a gift fromthe United StatesTreasury to promote theU.S. Savings Bondindependence drive of1950. The bell doesn’thave the famous crackof the original LibertyBell, but the tone,dimensions, and

symbolism are identical.

5. On the southeast corner of thelawn is the Pioneer Monument.2,777 Boise schoolchildren donatedfunds for the monument toperpetuate the memory of the OldOregon Trail and the pioneers whofollowed it. It was erected in 1906.

A. On the west lawn is the Tree ofGuernica, brought to Idaho in 1981from the Basque region in northernSpain. It was planted byrepresentatives of Idaho’s Basquecommunity.

B. The Ruth G. Moon MemorialGarden is located in front of theCapitol building near the first-floorentrance. It honors the formerstate treasurer, who served thestate from 1945-1946 and againfrom 1954 until 1959.

C. Presidential trees are located onthe southeast side of the buildingnear the sidewalk. A Water Oak,planted by President BenjaminHarrison in 1891, still stands. Itwas Harrison, by the way, whohad one year earlier signed aproclamation for Idaho to becomea state.

1. Near the west entrance of theCapitol is the Grand Army of theRepublic (The Union Army)Monument. Donated in 1935 bythe Ladies of the GrandArmy of the Republic, ithonors the men of theUnion Army “whosaved the union of thestates” in the Civil War.

2. On the southwestcorner is a “Model1840” cast iron cannon.It is a seacoast gun usedby the Confederacy inthe Civil War. Thispiece was obtained by StateTreasurer S. A. Hastings with thehelp of Senator William Borah todecorate the Capitol grounds.

3. Directly across from the mainentrance of the Capitol in CapitolPark is the Steunenberg Statue.The statue honors Governor Frank

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3F. A Sunset Maple Tree is plantedon the northeast corner of thegrounds in honor of Martin LutherKing, Jr. The tree was donated in1985 by the Boise and Pocatellobranches of the NationalAssociation for the Advancementof Colored People.

D. An Ohio Buckeye was plantedin 1911 by President WilliamHoward Taft.

E. A Rock (Sugar) Maplewas planted in 1903 byPresident Theodore Roosevelt.

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AERIAL VIEW OF STATE

CAPITOL GROUNDS

UNIQUE FACTSIdaho’s State Capitol has atotal floor area of 201,720

square feet, including the fourfloors and basement. From thefirst floor to the tip of the eagleatop the dome, the buildingrises 208 feet. The corridors,floors, wainscoting, and basethroughout the building consistof 50,646 square feet ofartistically carved marble. Theplot on which the Capitol sits is4.69 acres, with a frontage of680 feet. The originalappropriation was for only$250,000; however, when

water. Boise sits atop a large,naturally occurring geothermalresource. The hot water istapped and pumped from asource three thousand feetunderground. In fact, theentire Capitol Mall is heated bythis natural aquifer.

• The eagle atop the dome ismade of copper and is bronzeplated and gilded with gold. Itis perched on a twenty-six foot“lantern” which tops the domeproper. Including the triplepedestal of sandstone, the eagle

completed, the buildingcost $2,098,455.05.Replacement cost attoday’s prices is estimatedat over $100 million; manymaterials, such as the

UNIQUE FACTS

the only one in the UnitedStates heated by geothermal

measures 5 feet 7 inches.

scagliola, areirreplaceable.

• Idaho’scapitol building is

The architect’sdrawings hadoriginally showna flag atop thecapitol dome, butin the course ofconstruction aneagle wassubstituted.

Courtesy Hummel Architects PA

STATE SYMBOLSSTATE SYMBOLS

STATE ELECTED

OFFICIALS

Governor..................................................Dirk KempthorneLieutenant Governor.............................................Jim RischSecretary of State................................................Ben YsursaState Controller..............................................Keith Johnson

is an intelligent, fast, hard-workingbreed. Its distinct coat ranges fromwhite-blanketed hips to a fullleopard. A sixth-grade class fromEagle, Idaho, asked the legislatureto adopt the Appaloosa in 1975; itdid!

STATE TREE The Western WhitePine is abundant north of theClearwater River. The tree cangrow to over 200 feet in height andcan live for hundreds of years(adopted 1935).

STATE FOLK DANCE The 1989state legislature designated thesquare dance as the state’s officialfolk dance. The square dance was

STATE SEAL The Great Seal of theState came into existence in 1891,by act of the State Legislature.Originally designed by EmmaEdwards Green, Idaho’s is the onlystate seal designed by a woman.The translation of the Latin mottoon the seal, “Esto Perpetua,” is“May it endure forever.”

STATE SONG Sallie HumeDouglas composed the music; itwas copyrighted in 1915. In 1917McKinley Helm, a student at theUniversity of Idaho, wrote theverse which became the chorus.Albert J. Tompkins wrote a set ofverses for the song, and in 1931“Our Idaho” was adopted by the

Idaho Legislature as the state song,renamed “Here We Have Idaho.”

STATE FLOWERThe Syringa is abranching shrubwith clusters ofwhite flowerssimilar to mockorange. Blossoms

have four petals. Syringa grows onhills and along streams. It wasadopted by the legislature in 1931.

STATE HORSE The Appaloosawas bred for centuries by the NezPerce Indians. The breed wasbrought back from near oblivionbeginning in 1938. The Appaloosa

STATE ELECTED

OFFICIALS

State Treasurer.......................................................Ron CraneAttorney General................................Lawrence G. WasdenSuperintendent of Public Instruction.....Marilyn Howard

Cover photo: ISHS 72-201.133/BCosts associated with this publication are available from the Idaho State Historical Society in accordance with Section 60-202, Idaho Code. 6/2005/5,000/01.

first associated with the Americanpeople, and it has been recorded inhistory since 1651.

STATE INSECT The MonarchButterfly is a great migrator; sometravel from Canada and thenorthern United States to Mexico.The monarch butterfly is black,orange, and white (adopted 1992).

STATE BIRD The MountainBluebird ranges throughout theWest and as far north as Alaska.The Mountain Bluebird is aboutseven incheslong andnests inhollow treesand rockcrevices. Iteats insectsand weedseeds(adopted1931).

STATE FISH The Cutthroat troutare native to Idaho. TheCutthroat’s name comes from the

distinctive red to orange slash onthe underside of its lower jaw. The1990 legislature recognized thefish’s role as an ideal environmen-tal barometer. Recognition as thestate fish can help build the publicawareness and support necessaryfor thoughtful use of aquatichabitats and associated resources.

STATE FOSSIL The HagermanHorse Fossil was discovered in the1920’s near Hagerman, Idaho. Thearea is now a national monumentand one of the best Pleistocene-epoch fossil sites in the world. TheHagerman Horse fossil bed isabout 3.5 million years old(adopted 1988).

STATE FLAG A silk flag, with ablue field, 5 feet 6 inches fly, 4 feet4 inches on pike is bordered by agilt fringe 2 inches wide. The StateSeal of Idaho is in the center, andthe words “State of Idaho” areembroidered in 2-inch gold blockletters on a red band (adopted1907).

STATEGEMSTONEThe Star Garnetis Idaho’s stategemstone.Normally theStar Garnet hasfour rays, butsome have six.

The color is usually dark purple orplum and the star seems to glide orfloat across the surface. The StarGarnet is found only in Idaho andIndia (adopted 1967).

MUSEUM ANDHISTORIC SITES DIVISION610 North Julia Davis Drive

Boise, Idaho 83702