Later Use
The isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona was developed into the city of Madison. Many of the settlers who had rushed to Belmont when it had been made territorial capital were now leaving for Madison. Still, the village survived, although the route taken by the Mineral Point Railroad prompted most of its residents to relocate three miles to the southeast of the original town in 1867, meaning that the first capitol is now three miles northwest of Belmont.
After being vacated by territorial officials, the capitol building and accompanying structures were used as private residences and barns until the Wisconsin Federation of Women's Clubs initiated a restoration project in 1910, completing a restoration of the original council house in 1924. Later, the lodging house, which had been moved and used as the home of territorial Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Dunn, was returned to its original site and underwent restoration in 1956. Together, these two structures created First Capitol Historic Site. The site was operated initially by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. In 1994, it was transferred to the Wisconsin Historical Society, which is now responsible for the museum's operations.
Read more about this topic: First Capitol Historic Site (Wisconsin)
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—Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (1844–1911)