Wisconsin at tee centennial. 
363 
LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATION. 
During the session of the legislature of 1876, an appropriation of 
$20,000 was made, to aid in preparing for the exhibition a fair rep¬ 
resentation of the natural resources and products of the state. By 
this law, Hon. Ferd. Kuehn, state treasurer, was added to the board, 
and made its treasurer. This act was passed on the 3d day of 
March, 1876. The managers, feeling encouraged by the liberality 
of the legislature, began at once the work of preparation with much 
energy. The time for work was short, and it was improved to the 
best possible advantage; and the results are known to the thous¬ 
ands of people from Wisconsin who visited Philadelphia during the 
months of the exhibition; and it is hardly necessary to say they 
were generally satisfactory to the people of the state. 
STATE CENTENNIAL BUILDING. 
First among the various things the managers deemed of import¬ 
ance was, the erection of a house on the centennial grounds, to be 
known as the Wisconsin headquarters. An eligible location was 
secured, and the work of building at once commenced. It was for 
the convenience of the people of this state that this house was pro¬ 
jected, and the managers did not feel authorized to spend more 
money upon it than was necessary to make it respectable, in com¬ 
parison with buildings from other states. A writer, unknown to 
the managers, makes mention of the Wisconsin house as follows: 
“The state of Wisconsin does not challenge admiration by the 
beauty of the arrangements which she has made for the accommo¬ 
dation of her commissioners and citizens. There is no superfluity 
of ornament here, but the interior shows that the more important 
objects of comfort and convenience have been studied.” The same 
w’riter then describes the building thus: “The dimensions are 45 
by 50 feet, height two stories, with a central, round-headed window, 
and window-door in front at the second story, and a double round- 
headed window on each side. A small cupola of pyramidal shape 
rises above the ornamental pediment, and is surmounted by a flag¬ 
staff. A piazza, supported by plain pillars, extends around the 
eastern, western and southern sides of the house. From the main 
entrance door a hall extends through the building, seven feet wide. 
On the western side is the ladies’ parlor, 16 by 20 feet, which is 
