Joseph Clark's Dome

Many tourists enter the Maryland State House, admire the copy of George Washington’s resignation speech in the rotunda, and look above them at the interior of the dome. Unfortunately, there is a common misconception that the dome visitors see today was the very dome that stood when Washington entered the building on December 23, 1783. In fact, the famous dome that crowns the State House is not the first on the building.

Conjectural drawing of the original appearance of the State House dome when the building first opened in 1772. Sketch by Elizabeth Ridout, Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 1444.

Though construction on the State House began in 1772, when Continental Congress arrived in 1783, they found a building still riddled with complications. The building's undertaker, Charles Wallace, left the project in 1779 due to frustration with finances and continual delays to the project from weather and war. Though the rooms were fully completed and furnished in 1783, the roof continually leaked and damaged much of the upstairs rooms. Aesthetically, the original dome that Congress would have seen was considered too small and unimpressive for a building considered the most beautiful in America.

Sick of Body, but of Sound Mind: Probate Research for the OSC

When researching a room as well-known as the Old Senate Chamber, a historian would find that many of the more obvious sources have long since been combed. So, over the course of this project, our team has had to think creatively to find new information. This has meant digging up new, less obvious, resources. In this first of a series of blog posts, we will be taking a look at some of the research methods used to form restoration of this historic room.

Probate, referring to legal documents regarding the deceased including wills and inventories, may seem an unlikely source for information regarding the architecture and decor of an eighteenth-century room. Quite the contrary, probate records have been a key source to the Old Senate Chamber restoration since they not only tell us about the people who worked on and in the room, but they also provide a means of tracking specific objects over the course of centuries.

Example of an inventory. This particular one belonged to Sarah Joyce, the mistress of William Paca, in 1803. Sarah Joyce's inventory was among many searched as a part of OSC research for any evidence of chairs she may have had in her possession that had belonged to William Paca. A set of Paca's chairs have been rumored to have been present in the Old Senate Chamber while Congress was in session. Anne Arundel County Register of Wills (Inventories), 1803, MSA C88-8, vol. JG5 p.503.

Artisans of the State House: The Ironmaster

On October 19, 1785, exactly two-hundred twenty-eight years ago tomorrow, the auditor general recorded a payment of ₤21.7.9 to "Simon Ratalick" for iron work to a public pump.[1] This seemingly unremarkable entry was actually one of several state payments to Annapolis "ironmaster" (or blacksmith), Simon Retallick. Throughout the 1780s and 1790s, Retallick completed various projects for the Maryland State House, including the dome's famous lightning rod.

In the first of several upcoming features on the lives of the artisans who worked on the Old Senate Chamber, today's entry will look at a local blacksmith whose work at the State House can still be spotted by any passersby today.

Simon Retallick was born circa 1752 in the town of St. Issey in Cornwall, England to Richard and Elizabeth Retallick. The Retallicks of Cornwall appeared to have been from a long line of skilled craftsmen. Little is known about Simon's youth until, at the age of 22, he registered himself as a blacksmith traveling to Annapolis as an indentured servant on board the Peggy Stewart.

The Peggy Stewart made history upon its arrival in the port of Annapolis in 1774 with a cargo of tea. By that time, Annapolis had adopted a policy of refusing any ship that carried tea to unload any of its cargo. However, a significant part the Peggy Stewart's cargo included approximately fifty indentured servants on board, who would likely not survive a return voyage to England. While the people of Annapolis debated what to do with the vessel, the indentured servants, Retallick among them, were forced to await their fate aboard the ship. After several days, the indentured servants were released, and the ship was famously burned on October 19, 1774 in what is remembered as the "Annapolis Tea Party." This early rebellion was captured in Francis Blackwell Mayer's The Burning of the Peggy Stewart, on display in the Old House of Delegates Chamber.

The Burning of the Peggy Stewart by Francis Blackwell Mayer, 1896, Maryland State Archives, MSA SC 1545-1111.