Men remain entombed in the Tennessee State Capitol more than a century after the building's completion
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — It's one of the most iconic structures in Nashville, and the walls of Tennessee's State Capitol building help tell the story of how it came to be.
As a matter of fact, two of the men who were instrumental in making the Capitol a reality are still inside it to this day — prominent Nashville businessman Samuel Morgan and renowned architect William Strickland.
These men are not just on the walls they helped to build by way of huge painted portraits, they are inside them, too — literally.
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As the Director of Education and Community Engagement for the Tennessee State Museum, Jeff Sellers knows these stories all too well. He compiled images of the Capitol building in a book telling its history.
'We all own this building as Tennesseans and it's one of the most beautiful and most historic buildings in the state,' Sellers said.
Sellers explained that's the message of pride and prominence that Tennessee leaders planned to send in the 1800's with their State Capitol building in Nashville.
'Really, there's a lot of statesmen and politicians that are on the national stage at the time,' Sellers added.
They wanted a big-name architect to build their State Capitol. Morgan, a wealthy merchant and Capitol building commissioner hired Strickland, who designed notable Philadelphia structures like The Second Bank of the United States, the Merchants Exchange and the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Music City.
'He really wants to make this [TN Capitol] the crowning achievement in his career and he does,' Sellers said.
Strickland requested to be buried in the building and designed his own tomb.
'Within a few months, he was on the steps of the post office — the Nashville post office down on the public square — walking up the steps and he slumped over,' Sellers said.
Strickland died in 1854 and was entombed a day later in a key location.
'The northeast is the cornerstone of a building,' Sellers said, standing outside the cornerstone where Strickland had been entombed.
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The building was completed about five years later on May 19, 1859.
'It's a testament to not only Strickland himself for his design; it's a testament to the but also the workers of the Capitol building — those that were enslaved, those that were free, those that were imprisoned,' Sellers said.
During those 14 years of its construction, Morgan never left the project.
'He just really invested himself in it,' Sellers said. 'You hear stories about [how] he and Strickland not getting along — they got along. Morgan respected Strickland for his design and Strickland depended on Morgan to get the appropriations from the General Assembly that he needed to finish the project.'
Sellers said Morgan even spent his own money to help with the building's completion. His body was entombed in the walls at the request of state leaders in December 1881, about 18 months following his death.
'General Assembly being in session kind of stopped session — on Christmas Eve, which is amazing — and came down here,' Sellers said. 'The governor had a speech and they entombed his remains in the south portico of our State Capitol building.'
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The two men are now forever part of what's become one of the oldest working State Capitol buildings in the country.
'It's also a testament to the State of Tennessee's upkeep of this building and the preservation of it,' Sellers said. 'The generations of Tennesseans that committed themselves to preserving this beautiful building.'
Lawmakers passed a resolution this year to recognize and honor the 15 enslaved persons who helped build the Tennessee State Capitol.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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