In 1798, Ralph Earl painted this view of the hilltop, showing the State Arms Inn on the left and, in the middle, the first Court House. That first Court House burned on May 17, 1809, and the second Court House built on the same location burned on October 28, 1846. At 3:00 PM on February 8, 1839, Archiblad Bates was executed there for murder. The gallows stood north of the Court House, and an estimated 12,000 to 20,000 people attended. It was the last public hanging in Vermont.