Admitted to the Union in 1818, Illinois quickly abandoned its first governmental center of Kaskaskia in 1820 due to environmental threats.

The third capitol building was hastily built in 1824 and was the beginning of Abraham Lincoln's political career as a member of the Illinois General Assembly in 1834.

In response, some townsmen wrote the then governor of Illinois Joseph Duncan about the situation, who informed them to see if the building could be repaired.

The new building was intentionally built with larger state office quarters, as it was deemed more important than the moving of the capitol.

[citation needed] In February 1837, the legislature voted to move the governmental center to the more populous town of Springfield.