"Many times since the establishment of the capital at Madison there has been talk of removing it to some other city, but only three really serious efforts have been made toward removal. The first was in 1858 during Gov. Randall's administration. The bill failed of passage in the assembly by one vote. The next was in 1870. A new court house had just been erected in Milwaukee and the city and the county offered the new building for use as a capitol until a new one could be built, if the removal were determined upon. A bill was introduced in the assembly and the Milwaukee people made a spirited canvass. For a time it looked as if it would carry, but when the vote was taken it stood 30 for removal and 56 against. The other attempt was in 1905. Several matters had arisen that gave encouragement to representatives of other cities. A year previously the capital building was more than half destroyed by fire, and money was required to rebuild. Then  there  was  feeling  engendered  by  the failure of the city to improve the streets around the capital park. A resolution passed both houses to submit the question of removal to a vote of the people. This alarmed the citizens of Madison and of the southeastern part of the state, and by the most active efforts they had the resolution reconsidered and then voted down. Later the legislature appropriated $600,000 to rebuild a portion of the building."Wisconsin: comprising sketches of counties, towns, events, institutions, and persons, arranged in cyclopedic form, ed. by Ex-Gov. Geo. W. Peck (Madison, Wis., Western Historical Association, 1906).

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