WILLIAM STRICKLAND MARKER
NW-11: NASHVILLE, DAVIDSON COUNTY, TN. TENNESSEE STATE CAPITOL
The marker for William Strickland, Architect of the Tennessee State Capitol, Nashville, Tennessee, is located in the East wall of the North Portico of the building.
William Strickland was born in 1788, in Navesink, New Jersey. When he was two years old, his parents moved to Philadelphia. At age 15, he was apprenticed to the architect Benjamin Latrobe. When he was 20, his design for a new Masonic Hall in Philadelphia was awarded the contract. Strickland designed many outstanding buildings in Philadelphia, Charlotte, North Carolina, and New Orleans before moving to Nashville. In 1843, Nashville was designated by the Legislature as the permanent capital city for Tennessee. Two years later, William Strickland, named architect for the new building by the Legislature, arrived in Nashville. The cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1845. Construction proceeded slowly and regrettably before the completion of the Capitol, William Strickland died in Nashville on April 7, 1854. The Tennessee General Assembly honored his wish to be buried in a niche carved into the North Portico of the Capitol. Marker reads:
WILLIAM STRICKLAND, ARCHT:
DIED APRIL 7TH 1854 AGED 64 YEARS
BY AN ACT OF THE LEGISLATURE OF TENN.
HIS REMAINS ARE DEPOSITED WITHIN THIS VAULT.
SITE SURVEYED APRIL 8, 2003
REPORT MARCH 19, 2004