The Illinois General Assembly votes to build a new Capitol, the state's sixth and second in Springfield. Kaskaskia was the capital when Illinois gained statehood in 1818, but lawmakers wanted a site within the fledgling state, not on its edge along the Mississippi River. Thus, a couple of years later, the capital moved to Vandalia. In 1837, however, lawmakers voted to move again, this time settling on Springfield. Kaskaskia, by the way, is now an island of sorts and is west of the Mississippi channel.