Cornerstone of the US Capitol laid
- When
- 1793
- Where
- Site of the United States Capitol in the new Federal City on the Potomac River; The planned United States Capitol in the federal city
- Episodes
- 2
On September 18, 1793, President George Washington, joined by eight other Freemasons in masonic regalia, laid the cornerstone of the United States Capitol in the new federal city on the Potomac. The ceremony followed the 1792 design competition and Thornton's April 1793 approval as the Capitol's first architect.
Episodes
- Thornton's design approved for the Capitol
Washington's letter of April 5, 1793 officially approved Thornton's design, making him the Capitol's first architect, months before the cornerstone laying.
- Washington lays the Capitol cornerstone
President Washington, with eight fellow Freemasons in regalia, laid the Capitol's cornerstone, made by silversmith Caleb Bentley, on September 18, 1793.
Background and detail
Background. After Pierre L'Enfant was dismissed from the federal city project in early 1792, Jefferson proposed a design competition for the Capitol and the President's House, with a four-month deadline. Thornton's design was officially approved in a letter dated April 5, 1793, from Washington, and Thornton became the Capitol's first architect.
The Cornerstone Ceremony. On September 18, 1793, President Washington laid the Capitol's cornerstone, accompanied by eight other Freemasons dressed in masonic regalia. The cornerstone itself was made by silversmith Caleb Bentley. The event took place at the site of the new Federal City on the Potomac River.
Washington in 1793. Washington was the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. On February 13, 1793, the Electoral College unanimously re-elected him president, with John Adams re-elected vice president by a vote of 77 to 50, months before he presided over the cornerstone ceremony.
People involved
- George Washington · President of the United States; laid the cornerstone
- Caleb Bentley · Silversmith who made the cornerstone
- William Thornton · First architect of the Capitol, whose design was approved before the ceremony
Sources
- United States Capitol Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-29
- George Washington Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.