NEBRASKA STATE CAPITOLS' AND THEIR HISTORY

 

The First Territorial Capitol was a modest two story brick structure 33' x 75', fronting east on 9th Street between Farnam and Douglas. The Building had been provided by the Council Bluffs and Nebraska Ferry Company without a cost of one single dollar.

 

                   Picture by the

 Nebraska State Historical Society

The House of Representatives met on the first floor, and the council or upper house met on the second floor. Both chambers were fitted out with school desks. The curtains were made of red and green calico. It was the only brick building in Omaha City and was distinct in the landscape as the capitol today.

The capitol was extremely divided. Many of the delegates were not from Nebraska as some were from Iowa and as far away as Michigan. Many tried to bring the capitol to Belleview but Acting Governor Cumming was to well entrenched and Omaha City won out. Cumming died in 1858 or his grandiose plan of using the Territorial Capitol to build Council Bluffs might have succeeded.   

The Second Territorial capitol [C244-6, 3187]

The Second Territorial Capitol was constructed in 1857-1858 was highly suited as the State Capitol and could have been used with minor repairs for many years. Transportation and population gave Omaha City an advantage. Relocation of the Capitol became the center of business.

When President Andrew Johnson signed the bill making Nebraska a state on March 1, 1867, a fierce struggle was already raging over the location of the new state's capital. Amid angry charges of lack of legislative representation from those living south of the Platte River, and despite frequent challenges, the seat of Nebraska's territorial government had remained at Omaha since 1854, the year in which Nebraska Territory was created. Although the then current Omaha capitol building, built in 1857-58, was apparently sturdy enough to house legislative sessions for several years and was well located in relation to Nebraska's 1867 population, it was still north of the Platte. Forces from the south launched a major verbal and legal initiative to move the seat of government to their part of the state.

                

Second Territorial Capitol

Nebraska Territory came into being on May 30, 1854 when President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, passed by the Senate on May 25th and the House on March 3rd. On February 22, 1855 a resolution to place the Territorial Capitol in Omaha was passed. Governor Izard appointed James C. Mitchell to locate the site to build the capitol. On March 17th 1855 he reported that it would be built in the center of Capitol Square, where present day Central High School sits at 20th & Dodge. By December the foundation was complete. It was in use as the Territorial Capitol from approximately 1858 to 1867 when Nebraska became a state and the capitol was removed to Lincoln. The Territorial Capitol was 137’ x 93’ with the Supreme Court, Library and government offices on the first floor. The Legislative and governor’s offices were on the second floor. In 1869 the building and grounds were presented to Omaha. By 1872 it had been completely torn down and replaced by Omaha High School.

 

This image, looking northwest from 12th and Farnam in approximately 1867, shows the Nebraska Territorial Capitol is located on the horizon. In Farnam Street it appears that an auction is taking place at Newman, Porterfield’s Auction & Commission company. To the right is a Variety Hall, and Fancy Goods & Toy store. To the west is a tobacco and cigar store, and on the corner a store selling groceries and provisions. Across 13th Street is Champion Bakery and a wholesale grocery store. The steeple of the First Methodist Episcopal Church located on 13th street is seen behind the Champion Bakery building. A sign for W. H. Major selling Shoes, Hats & Caps is seen in the lower left.

During the last territorial legislature the battles over reapportionment and capital removal raged so hotly that at one point fists and guns were brandished. When the removal issue finally came to a vote before the first State Legislature meeting in Omaha, however, there was little protest from north of the Platte. A last-ditch attempt to steer Democrats living south of the river away from the bill came from Omaha Senator J. N. H. Patrick, who attempted to revive Civil War hatreds by moving that the name "Capital City" be removed from the bill and "Lincoln" (for Abraham Lincoln) substituted. Although the new name was accepted, the ploy failed and capital removal became a fact.

 

 

Thomas P. Kennard [P853, 16329]

David Butler [B985-3, 3184]

John Gillespie [P853, 3183]

The removal act also called for the formation of a Capital Commission, to be composed of the three principal officers in the new state government: Governor David Butler, Secretary of State Thomas Kennard, and Auditor John Gillespie. The commission was directed to locate the capital site on state-owned land within an area that included the "County of Seward, the south half of the counties of Saunders and Butler, and that portion of the county of Lancaster lying north of the south line of township nine." The commissioners were then to have the land platted and sold to provide funds for the construction of a new capitol building. Finally, they were to oversee the building's construction.

Their tour of sites began July 18, 1867. They looked at Ashland, rural Butler County, Milford, Camden, Yankee Hill (Saline City), and Lancaster. By July 29 they were back in the Salt Creek Valley and the village of Lancaster for a second look. According to their official report the commissioners found the land

gently undulating, its principal elevation being near the center of the proposed new site, the village already established being in the midst of a thrifty and considerable agricultural population, rich timber and water power available within short distances, the center of the great saline region within two miles; and, in addition to all other claims, the especial advantage was that the location was at the center of a circle of about one hundred and ten miles in diameter, along or near the circumference of which are the Kansas state line, directly south, and the important towns of Pawnee City, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, Omaha, Fremont, and Columbus.

[917.82 892v C.1, salt]
Artesian salt-well, salt basin and prairie, west of Lincoln, Neb.

The "great saline region" referred to by the report was apparently quite significant to the commissioners. The salty basin was well-known to Indians and fur traders, and as early as 1857 the Crescent Salt Company had sent Captain William Donovan to investigate the possibilities of developing it. Twelve years later Governor Butler, speaking before the 1869 State Legislature, stated that the Salt Creek basin "will be directly and indirectly a source of wealth to the state whose great value no one can fully estimate." Even though these great hopes for salt fortunes were doomed to disappointment, the optimism of the time was apparently a decisive factor to Kennard. When the first ballots were cast for a new capital site, Butler, who was apparently influenced by the opinion of his secretary of state, also voted for the Salt Creek Valley. Gillespie voted for Ashland, but switched to Lancaster on the next ballot to make the decision unanimous. On August 14, 1867, their decision was formally announced. Lancaster was to become Lincoln, capital of the new state of Nebraska.

Lincoln, 1868 [L741-38a, 2847]

At the time of its designation as the state capital, Lancaster was composed of two stores, one shoe shop, six to seven houses, and approximately thirty residents. Forces opposed to capital removal now focused their invective on Lincoln. "Nobody will ever go to Lincoln, who does not go to the Legislature, the lunatic asylum, the penitentiary, or some of the State institutions," said the Omaha Republican. "It is founded on fiat, no river, no railroad, no steam wagon, nothing. It is destined for isolation and ultimate oblivion," said another. Governor Butler feared that unless the new capitol was completely built and ready to receive the State Legislature in January 1869, Lincoln would lose its capital status, and the removal plan would fail after all.

There was much to be done. Augustus F. Harvey and A. B. Smith were hired to survey the town-site. While Butler and Gillespie returned to other state business, Kennard remained in Lincoln to oversee the platting of the new city. A sale of lots at auction was announced for September 17, 1867.

The purchase price of the first lot was indicative of the trend for the rest of the first day's sales. The lot had an appraised value of $40 and sold for twenty-five cents. Sales on September 17 averaged only 10 percent of the expected price. To raise the money essential for construction of the capitol, more aggressive action would be necessary. That evening the three capital commissioners and a group of Nebraska City businessmen led by James Sweet reached an agreement. To encourage other buyers, the Nebraska City group agreed to bid $10,000 worth of lots up to at least their appraised value. In return the commissioners would show their faith in the new town by buying lots as well. So far the commissioners had kept out of the bidding, apparently to avoid conflict of interest charges. With the pump thus primed, a very successful auction followed, resulting in a total collection of $34, 342.25. Commented the Lincoln Statesman: "If Governor Butler, John Gillespie, Tom Kennard and James Sweet had not come up with the scratch and bid off lots at prices above appraisements, Lincoln would have fizzled-died aborning."

Portion of original plat map of Lincoln. [12]

Meanwhile, the commissioners and Nebraska City businessmen were not the only ones to come up with the "scratch." Newcomers arrived rapidly and on October 9, 1869, the Nebraska State Journal could report that 110 dwellings and business places had been erected, an average of four buildings a week. Lincoln's future was to remain uncertain until after the depression years of the 1870s.

Construction of 1st state capitol. [RG1234:4-4, 3185]

First state capitol [RG1234:3-4, 3186]

Difficulties in obtaining an architect, contractor, and suitable building materials for the capitol were met and solved by the commissioners, and by December 1, 1868, the building was ready to receive the next month's legislative session. With this job finished the commissioners could turn their attention to the construction of their private residences. Kennard and Gillespie bought the north half and south half, respectively, of Block 153, bounded by H, G, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth streets, while Butler purchased 120 acres southwest of the original Lincoln plat. By June 12, 1869, Kennard was excavating his lots in preparation for construction, and by July 17 John K. Winchell, a Chicago architect, had completed designs for the three similar homes. Joseph Ward, contractor of the newly completed capitol, served as contractor for both the Butler and Kennard houses, while D. J. Silver and Son erected the Gillespie home.

According to the Nebraska Statesman, the three residences were to cost between $8,000 and $15,000 and were to "exceed in tastefulness of design any private dwellings in the State." Thus in their private lives, the commissioners continued to exhibit confidence in the new city. In later years it was recognized that the psychological impetus given to Lincoln residences and investors by the construction of these three mansions in the raw prairie capital had been an important factor in the struggling city's ultimate success.

Kennard and Gillespie houses, 1870 or 1971 [L741-11, 2849]

Butler house [B985-2, 3188a]

Architect John Keyes Winchell was twenty-seven when he submitted his designs for the commissioners' residences. At the same time he was also serving as architect for the Nebraska Insane Asylum in Lincoln, his plan for which had been accepted by the commissioners the previous June. Winchell's career was apparently plagued by ill luck. Only six buildings have specifically been attributed to him, four in the Lincoln area and two in Chicago. Two of the major ones, Lincoln's $137,000 state asylum and Chicago's $425,000 Bigelow House (planned as the city's most costly and lavish hotel), were soon to be destroyed by fire. The asylum had been completed less than a year when it burned in April of 1871, and the Bigelow was lost in the great Chicago fire of October 1871 on the night before it was to have celebrated its grand opening. Little is known of the Statehood Memorial architect's life after 1873, but he died young, possibly after several years of illness.

One of the many unsubstantiated rumors current during the impeachment proceedings against Governor Butler in 1871 was that some state funds budgeted to the asylum had indirectly gone into the construction of Butler's and Kennard's private residences. Apparently the only incriminating circumstances were that both the architect and contractor for the asylum were, at the same time, involved in the construction of the two commissioners' houses.

In constructing Kennard's house, contractor Joseph Ward used both local and imported materials. The house was built prior to the completion of the first railroad to Lincoln in July 1870, and it is believed that all original lumber in the house was hauled overland from Nebraska City and Omaha by ox-drawn freight wagons. Bricks were made from local clays, and the sandstone for the foundation was quarried along Antelope Creek in the vicinity of today's Folsom Children's Zoo. In one of its first uses west of the Missouri, Frear Stone, a forerunner of modern concrete, was used for the window heads and sills.

Lincoln's attitude toward Frear Stone was characteristic of the way in which frontier America actively anticipated joining the East in gaining the advantages of technological change. During the Kennard House construction patentee Joseph Frear visited Lincoln, and local newspapers generated excitement over the possibilities of the new artificial stone. According to the Nebraska Statesman, it was composed of "sand, Louisville cement, gypsum, oxide of iron and a small mixture of chemicals." A Frear Stone manufacturing plant was established in Lincoln, and in an attempt to popularize the product the manufacturers offered to sell it to the state at the cost of production for use in their private dwellings. Frear Stone was used in the construction of all three commissioners' residences and the state asylum. There were apparently rumors of the material's lack of durability, but the Nebraska State Journal refused to believe them. "The material looks firm," the newspaper said, "and we'll bet high on it ." Later it noted:

Some fools, who have nothing else to occupy their minds occasionally start sensational reports about "faulty walls," and the breaking of Frear Stone, & c. These silly tales are simply malicious falsehoods . . . The Frear Stone has yet to crack, crumble or scale, in the least degree.

Within a few years, however, the rumors apparently became fact, and about 1878 all the Frear Stone window heads and sills of Kennard's house were covered with the galvanized metal that remains today. The arch over the main entrance has been uncovered and here the original Frear Stone can still be seen.

On January 8, 1870, the Nebraska State Journal noted that Auditor Gillespie and his family had arrived in town to take possession of their newly completed home. Secretary Kennard, it noted, would "follow suit immediately upon his return from Washington." Kennard had moved to Lincoln in the fall of 1868; prior to the completion of their homes, both Kennard and Butler lived for some time in the newly constructed state capitol building.

The Nebraska State Capitol is recognized as one of the world's architectural masterpieces. What makes our Nebraska Capitol unique is that all of the art of the building (exterior and interior) is related. It all comes together to represent one great theme in a regular and definite sequence. The art is an integral part of the building. If one were to try and remove any of the art, it would destroy the building. For example:

The Nebraska State Capitol is in the form of a large Greek cross within a square topped with a tower. The arms of the cross are 437 feet long with the tower being 400 feet tall. The large base is said to represent the flat plains of Nebraska while the tower symbolizes the dreams and aspirations of the pioneers. Sitting on top of the tower is the Sower. The Sower serves as a reminder to Nebraskans that our state government will always sow the seeds of fortune for a good life.

The design and style of the capitol is not a direct copy of any old or traditional art, but something strictly new and unique to Nebraskans:

The building was constructed over a ten-year period in five phases. Construction began in 1922 and completed in 1932. The total cost of the building was just under $10 million dollars. The building offers more useable space per dollar spent than any other building built for similar purposes in America.

 Nebraska Capitol Website: http://www.capitol.org      

The building, furnishings and landscaping cost just less than the $10 million budget. The money was secured by a special capitol levy, and the building was paid for upon completion in 1932. The four-phase construction was completed in 10 years under the supervision of William Younkin of the architect's office. The building's construction was overseen by the Capitol Commission composed of the governor, the state engineer and three members appointed by the governor. The appointed members were W.E. Hardy of Lincoln, W.H. Thompson of Grand Island and Walter H. Head of Omaha.

Samuel R. McKelvie, Charles W. Bryan, Adam McMullen and Arthur J. Weaver were governors during construction and chairmen of the commission. The state engineers were George E. Johnson and Robert L. Cochran while Thomas R. Kimball of Omaha was the commission's professional advisor. Kimball wrote the terms of how the building's architect was to be chosen.

Nebraska's capitol has been honored by the U.S. National Park Service, the American Institute of Architects, the Building Stone Institute and other organizations.

But perhaps its greatest tribute is the respect demanded for the building's care and preservation by those it serves, the citizens of Nebraska.

The History of Nebraska's Unicameral Legislature

 The Birth of a Unicameral

Nebraska’s legislature is unique among all state legislatures in the nation because it has a single-house system. It wasn’t always a unicameral, however.

 George Norris

George Norris, a "New Deal Republican" who settled in McCook, wore out two sets of tires while he drove throughout the state campaigning for the measure. He said the two-house system was outdated, inefficient and unnecessary.

The bicameral system was modeled after the British Parliament, Norris said, which is made up of the House of Commons, with representatives elected by the people, and the House of Lords, with its aristocratic members appointed by the king.

"...The constitutions of our various states are built upon the idea that there is but one class. If this be true, there is no sense or reason in having the same thing done twice, especially if it is to be done by two bodies of men elected in the same way and having the same jurisdiction."

The one-house system differs little from most city, county and school district governing bodies. Most Canadian provinces operate with single-house systems.

Norris's influence, the Depression and the other ballot issues summoned enough supporters for an overwhelming decision to make Nebraska's the only one-house legislature in the nation. The vote was 286,086 for and 193,152 against a unicameral system.

 Checks and Balances

A common question regarding unicameralism was how to preserve checks and balances to prevent abuse of power. Norris argued there would be checks and balances without a second house. The Supreme Court and the governor would rule on or veto measures deemed improper, he said.

More importantly, the people would serve as a check upon the possible abuse of power by their elected officials with the right to vote and petition, Norris said. The Nebraska Unicameral would have easy-to-follow procedures and extend greater privileges to the press to allow for greater public awareness.

"Every act of the legislature and every act of each individual must be transacted in the spotlight of publicity," Norris said.

In a one-house legislature, Norris said, no actions could be concealed as was commonly done in the conference committee of bicameral legislatures. Conference committees resolve differences when bills passed in both houses vary in content. In Nebraska, the appointed six-member committee met in secret and members’ votes were not public record. Norris said these committees had too much power and could be influenced easily by lobbyists.

Once a bill came out of the conference committee, it could not be changed, only approved or rejected. If rejected, another committee had to be formed to work out the disagreements or the measure failed. Today in Nebraska, lawmakers may propose amendments and debate them outside of committee on the chamber floor.

Some say a two-house system with its conference committee prevents hasty legislation. But the unicameral system has safeguards against this possibility. Most bills must get a public hearing; five days must elapse between a bill’s introduction and its passage; and bills can contain only one subject.

 Results

Implementation of the unicameral legislature in 1937 cut government costs for obvious reasons. Legislative membership went from 133 in the bicameral to 43 in the new single house – nearly a 70 percent reduction.

Also, the one-house system was more efficient than its predecessor. The number of committees was pared down from 61 to 18, and 581 bills were introduced in 1937 as opposed to twice that many the previous session. The last bicameral session in 1935 ran 110 days, passed 192 bills and cost $202,593. The first unicameral session two years later ran 98 days, passed 214 bills and cost $103,445.

 Nonpartisanship

Another unique aspect of Nebraska’s legislature is its nonpartisanship. Before becoming a unicameral, the Nebraska Legislature was a partisan one. The change to nonpartisanship was included in the successful 1934 unicameral amendment.

Being a nonpartisan legislature means that a candidate's political party is not listed on the election ballot. The two candidates who obtain the most votes in the primary election face each other in the general election. In other states, each party selects a winner in the primary, and the winners of each party run against each other in the general election.

Unlike other states, Nebraska's legislative leadership is not based on party affiliation.

Norris, who advocated nonpartisanship said that such a body would allow senators to concentrate on local interests without being influenced by national party lines. National party lines, he argued, often have little to do with local government. A voter who votes according to party lines might vote for a state candidate who disagrees with him or her on matters over which the senator will have jurisdiction.

Norris worked to eliminate partisanship in the legislature because he believed that elected officials would stand on their own records. Nonpartisanship would allow lawmakers to base their actions on their own convictions and the needs of their districts, rather than according to party dictates.

 Nebraska a Model

Movements for unicameralism have existed throughout the United States since the nation’s independence. There were several pro-unicameral movements in the state before one finally succeeded. The same year Nebraska’s unicameral legislature began operating, attempts in 21 other states to become one-house legislatures failed.

Such efforts waned until the 1960s when a Supreme Court ruling revived the movement. It ruled that both houses must be apportioned according to population, instead of one house according to population and the other house according to geographical lines.

The ruling raised doubts about the necessity of having two houses based on population, stirring many states to evaluate their own systems. Many states looked to Nebraska as a model of an effective one-house legislature. Those states included California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas. Nebraska officials visited many states to spread the word about unicameralism. Journalists and officials from other states also visited Nebraska.

The Unicameral’s first clerk, Hugo Srb, predicted that lawmakers in other states would not want to legislate their own jobs out of existence. Despite the interest unicameralism has received over the years, Nebraska remains the only state with a unicameral legislature

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