Wisconsin History Day By Day

Related Web Sites:

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"The Capitol Fire" Madison Democrat

"Henry Noll Turns Back Pages 20 Years to Scenes of State Capitol Fire"

"Century Ago Today, Heroes Battled Fired That Gutted Capitol," The Capital Times, Feb. 27, 2004

"Wisconsin Blue Book" 2001-2002

Vocabulary:

replacement

Interesting Fact:

Gov. Robert La Follette was in and out of the Capitol building many times during the fire, directing volunteers as they removed records and furniture.

Study Questions:

What started the Capitol on fire?

Why was the fire able to get out of control so quickly?

How many capitol buildings have there been in Madison? What were the reasons for replacing the earlier capitol buildings?

U.S. historical events that occurred on February 27:

1807: Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is born in Maine.

1902: Author John Steinbeck is born in California.

February 27

February 27, 1904: The state Capitol in Madison was destroyed by a fire. Construction of the replacement, Wisconsin's current Capitol, began in 1906 and was completed in 1917.

Wisconsin History Day By Day homepage January - December calendar page

February 27, 1904: The state Capitol in Madison was destroyed by a fire. Construction of the replacement, Wisconsin's current Capitol, began in 1906 and was completed in 1917.