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Capitol Trivia

*  It took 250 bushels of coal per day to keep the State House comfortably warm during "this weather,"  March of 1877.

* During the legislative session of 1877, 198 spittoons were located in the House chamber and 129 in the Senate, not to mention the rest of the building.

* Secretary of State Dement was known to hunt pigeons from the roof of the State House with a shotgun.

* The "lost" cornerstone of the State House was found in the fall of 1885 when workers were preparing the foundation for the east portico and reburied until "discovered" again in 1944.

* The Pierre Menard statue was not unveiled for several months after being erected.  Some citizens believed the box containing it covered the air shaft of a coal mine on the State House grounds.

*  Coal was mined briefly on the Capitol grounds.  An eight inch seam of coal was discovered during the excavation for the foundation of the building.  Several tons were utilized to heat the construction headquarters on the site.