Prior to Wyoming becoming the forty-fourth state in the Union on July
10, 1890, the territorial legislature passed a bill authorizing the
construction of a capitol at a maximum cost of $150,000. Governor Warren
signed the bill on March 4, 1886, and appointed the Capitol Building
Commission, which purchased a site on Hill Street, now Capitol Avenue,
at a cost of $13,100. Many changes have occurred since the 1887 laying
of the cornerstone. Recent renovations upgraded the capitol's Classical
style and striking gold-leaf dome. The most important room, where
women's right to vote began, has been restored to its original grandeur.
Authors Starley Talbott and Linda Graves Fabian celebrate these and
other historic firsts in this history of the state capitol building.