At this time the total cost of all the public buildings was $275,000, and consisted of the new Capitol, $135,000; executive offices on both sides of the Capitol building, $93,000; Arsenal, $12,000, and public grounds, its enclosure and embellishment, $35,000. The cornerstone of this new Capitol was laid at 12 o’clock on Monday, May 31, 1819, by Governor William Findlay, assisted by Stephen Hills, the architect and contractor for the execution of the work; William Smith, stone cutter, and Valentine Kergan and Samuel White, masons, in the presence of the Commissioners and a large concourse of citizens. The ceremony was followed by the firing of three volleys from the public cannon. The newspaper account of the event states that the above-mentioned citizens then partook of a cold collation, provided on the public ground by Mr. Rahn. The Building Commissioners deposited in the cornerstone the following documents: Charter of Charles II to William Penn. Declaration of Independence. Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1776. Articles of Confederation and perpetual union between the several States. Copy of so much of an act of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania, by which indemnity was made to the heirs of William Penn for their interest in Pennsylvania. Treaty of peace and acknowledgment by Great Britain of the independence of the United States. Constitution of the United States, 1787. Constitution of Pennsylvania, 1790. Acts of the Legislature of Pennsylvania, by which the seat of government was removed from Philadelphia to Lancaster and Harrisburg, and the building of a State Capitol at the latter place authorized. A list of the names of the Commissioners, architects, stonecutter and chief masons; likewise, a list of the then officers of the Government of Pennsylvania, embracing the Speakers of the two Houses of the Legislature, the Governor, the heads of departments, the Judges of the Supreme Court and Attorney General, with the names of the President and Vice President of the United States. It was a singular oversight that this cornerstone was not marked as such, and in after years it was not known at which corner of the building the stone was situated. An act providing for the furnishing of the State Capitol was approved March 30, 1821: Section 1. The Governor, Auditor General, State Treasurer, William Graydon, Jacob Bucher, Francis R. Shunk and Joseph A. McGinsey were appointed Commissioners to superintend the furnishing of the State Capitol. This able commission expended the $15,000 appropriated, and the new Capitol was a credit to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania when the General Assembly formally occupied it January 2, 1822. ---------- Lucretia Mott, Celebrated Advocate of Anti-Slavery, Born January 3, 1793