History:

It is an interesting question that most Illinoisans do not know the answer to or have even heard of them. This group goes back over 150 years ago during Lincoln’s time in the Illinois State Legislature. There are even shades of corruption associated with this group.

The first capitol of Illinois was Kaskaskia. In 1819 the Illinois Congress voted to move the capitol to a more centrally located area. The area chosen was a place called Reeve’s Bluff, which is, located about 90 miles northeast of Kaskaskia. This is where the city of Vandalia would grow and prosper. At Vandalia there were three capitol buildings. The first was destroyed by fire in December of 1823. The second building was constructed in the summer of 1824. It was hastily built which soon became evident. The floors began to sag and the walls started to bulge. It got so bad that in 1834 people refused to enter the building fearing that it might collapse.

The residents of Vandalia did not want to lose the capitol. There had been an earlier attempt to relocate the capitol. Alton and Springfield were two of the choices. The residents tore down the old capitol building in 1836 without the authorization of Congress. They replaced it with a brick State House costing $16,000. This building did have space for all the governmental offices except that of the governor. The legislature was able to meet in December of 1836 even though the construction was not complete.e.

Even with the new State House many of the legislators were not satisfied with Vandalia as the state capitol. One of the most vocal groups in favor of moving the capitol was the group known as “The Long Nine”. This was a group of legislators from Sangamon county. “The Long Nine” included two Senators and seven Representatives. Archer G. Herndon and Job Fletcher were in the Senate; Abraham Lincoln, Ninian Wirt Edwards, John Dawson, Andrew McCormick, Dan Stone, William F. Elin, and Robert L. Wilson were in the House of Representatives.

The name “The Long Nine” comes from the fact that these men were on an average of six feet in height and weighed over 200 pounds. These men belonged to the Whig political party and wanted the capitol moved to Springfield. Relocating the capitol was not an easy task. There were deals that had to be made. It was also at this time that there was a huge internal improvements bill being considered in the Congress. This involved the spending of over $12,000,000 for the building of various railroads and canals throughout the state.