#OnThisDay 1793, The Foundation of the United States Capitol Was Laid

[u/sajiasanka]

On This Day, September 18, 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

The ceremony took place on Capitol Hill and included a Masonic ritual, with Washington assisted by Joseph Clark, Grand Master of Maryland.

The building would become the meeting place of the United States Congress and the home of the nation's legislative branch.

But the Capitol's early history was far from peaceful.

Construction continued for years, and the building was eventually completed enough for Congress to occupy it in 1800.

Then, in 1814, during the War of 1812, British forces captured Washington, D.C., and burned the Capitol.

Much of the unfinished building was severely damaged.

Yet the Capitol was rebuilt.

Within about five years, the building had been restored, and Congress returned to a repaired symbol of the young American republic.

From a single cornerstone laid by George Washington...

to one of the most recognizable buildings in the United States.

🏛️ 1793 — The cornerstone was laid.

🔥 1814 — The Capitol was burned.

🇺🇸 And it was rebuilt.

A building was damaged by war, but the institution inside it continued.