A special legislative session was held on this day in 1857, but they were meeting in the old Brick Church in Montpelier. Vermont’s second statehouse had been gutted by fire a month earlier.

Montpelier had been chosen as the capitol in 1805 after much debate, and the debate raged anew as towns vied for another chance at the title.

One man from Burlington suggested an auction to the highest bidder, drawing sharp criticism from small towns without the financial resources of Burlington. Another man suggested that Montpelier’s morals did not measure up to capitol status, causing two statehouses to burst into flames.

Image courtesy the Vermont Historical Society.