Thomas Jefferson-designed neoclassical capitol completed 1788; meeting place of the Virginia General Assembly and former Confederate Congress, site of the April 27, 1870 Capitol Disaster that killed approximately 62 people.
1000 Bank St, Richmond, VA 23219
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public tours offered through the Virginia General Assembly; advance reservation recommended for groups.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Modern visitor center entrance accessible; some historic spaces have steps.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1788 · National Historic Landmark · Thomas Jefferson design · Modeled on the Maison Carrée at Nîmes · Site of the 1870 Capitol Disaster · Wartime seat of the Confederate Congress
The Virginia State Capitol was conceived by Thomas Jefferson while he was Minister to France. Working with French architect and antiquarian Charles-Louis Clérisseau, Jefferson modeled the building on the Maison Carrée at Nîmes, a Roman temple from the first century BCE. Construction began in 1785 and the legislature first met in the unfinished building in October 1788. It is widely considered the first major American public building modeled directly on Greco-Roman classical architecture and the second-oldest state capitol still in continuous use.
During the Civil War the Capitol housed both the Virginia General Assembly and the Congress of the Confederate States, making it a focal point of the Confederate government's wartime operations. The building was built and operated with enslaved Black labor in the antebellum period; modern interpretation by the Virginia Capitol Foundation now incorporates this history.
On April 27, 1870, the second-floor courtroom of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals was packed with spectators awaiting a decision in the Chahoon-Ellyson mayoral case. The gallery floor collapsed under the weight of the crowd, dropping debris and people into the hall below. Approximately 62 people were killed and 251 injured, including the great-grandson of Patrick Henry, Patrick Henry Aylett. The event is documented in the Library of Virginia's 'UncommonWealth' blog, Encyclopedia Virginia, and contemporary newspaper coverage.
The Capitol was substantially expanded in 1904-1906 with wings designed by John Kevan Peebles. A 2004-2007 underground expansion added the modern visitor center while preserving the Jefferson exterior. It is a National Historic Landmark.
Sources
The Capitol's most documented paranormal narrative is tied directly to the April 27, 1870 floor collapse. According to Colonial Ghosts' 'Virginia Supreme Court Building' feature and the Our Haunted Travels 'Haunting History of Virginia's State Capital Building' article, mournful voices have been reported in the corridors near the Old House of Delegates Chamber, and visitors have described the sense of being watched while standing on the spot of the 1870 disaster. The Southern Spirit Guide essay 'Launched into eternity—Richmond, Virginia' documents the disaster's spiritualist aftermath, including the grieving fiancée whose figure is said to linger.
The most substantive paranormal documentation comes from inside the institution itself: longtime Virginia Capitol Police officer Paul Hope published 'Policing the Paranormal: The Haunting of Virginia's State Capitol Complex' (Schiffer Publishing, 2013), which catalogues years of officer-witnessed phenomena. According to the book and subsequent coverage, the most consistent reports come from the sub-basement and the sixth floor, both areas closed to the public and patrolled overnight by sworn officers.
Reported phenomena include footsteps in empty corridors, sourceless voices, doors opening and closing without cause, and equipment anomalies on security cameras. Because the witnesses include uniformed law-enforcement officers and the named source is a published book, the Capitol's paranormal documentation is unusually well-attested compared to typical ghost-tour folklore. The Old House of Delegates Chamber is included on the free docent-led Capitol tours offered by the Virginia General Assembly, so visitors can stand in the precise space where the 1870 collapse occurred even though the most-reported zones (sub-basement, sixth floor) remain off-limits.
This entry handles the wartime Confederate seat-of-government history and the slavery context with the same editorial care applied to the White House of the Confederacy: the historic significance is presented without romanticizing the Lost Cause.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Docent-led tour through the Jefferson-designed Capitol, including the rotunda housing the Houdon statue of Washington and the Old Hall of Delegates. The Old House of Delegates Chamber is reported to be the area where police officers have logged the most unexplained phenomena.
Walk Capitol Square, including the equestrian monument to Washington and the Virginia Women's Monument. The Capitol exterior is accessible during park hours without prior arrangement.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Hollywood, MD
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Franklin, TN
Carnton, built in 1826 in Franklin, Tennessee, served as the largest temporary Confederate field hospital after the November 30, 1864, Battle of Franklin. Approximately 300 wounded soldiers were treated inside the house in a single night, and four Confederate generals' bodies were laid out on the back porch the following morning. Carrie and John McGavock later donated land for the McGavock Confederate Cemetery on the property — the largest privately owned military cemetery in the United States.
Alexandria, VA
Woodlawn was built in 1805 on land George Washington gave to his nephew Lawrence Lewis and Lewis's wife Eleanor "Nelly" Parke Custis Lewis, Martha Washington's granddaughter. The 126-acre Federal-style estate is owned by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and operates as a museum alongside the relocated Pope-Leighey House by Frank Lloyd Wright.