Montpelier April 3, 1857

Hon. Geo. P. Marsh-- Dear Sir--

Since you left Montpelier, I have thought much of the decoration in the pediment of the portico; & the more I think of it, the more I regret that the Commissioners it omitted I suggested to Mr. Williams before he left, the propriety of changing the phraseology so that, "it may be omitted if thought advisable by the superintendent" This he liked & gave his assent to the change If you will give your consent to the alteration, I will have it made, & consult you in relation to the hereafter An answer by return mail if you please --

Yours in haste

References in this letter:

Governor Fletcher named three commissioners to oversee the construction of a new State House in Montpelier: Norman Williams, John Porter, and George Perkins Marsh. Dr. Thomas E. Powers was named the Superintendent of Construction.

Norman Williams, (1791-1868) was a State Senator in 1854 and 1855 before he was named by Governor Fletcher, to the committee which oversaw the construction of the new State House in Montpelier, to replace the building destroyed by fire in 1857.

Dr. Thomas E. Powers, (1808-1876), of Woodstock, Vermont, was appointed by Governor Fletcher to be the Superintendent of Construction of the 1858-1860 project, to build a new State House in Montpelier to rebuild the structure burned in 1857. He and the architect, Thomas W. Silloway, were soon at loggerheads over their roles in the project. Powers became State Senator in 1861.