December 5, 1842 – The first meeting of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa is held in the new state capitol building in Iowa City.
By 1842, only four rooms on the first floor of the new capitol had been completed, but the Territorial Legislature decided to meet in the new building despite the construction that continued. In 1846, when Iowa became the 29th state in the Union, the building was still not fully completed, but was used as our functioning state capitol for the next 11 years. It wasn’t until after the state government left Iowa City for Des Moines (1857) when $4,000 was appropriated to finally complete the construction of the building!
A Day-by-Day Calendar of Historical Events In Iowa, William J. Petersen, State Historical Society of Iowa, 1946, p 116
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