Historic Governors' MansionBrochure |
Park brochure of Historic Governors' Mansion State Historic Site (SHS) in Wyoming. Published by the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources.
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WYOPARKS.STATE.WY.US
WYOPARKS.STATE.WY.US
WYOPARKS.ORG
THINGS TO DO AND SEE
FEES
FREE ADMISSION, Donations Accepted
Self-Guided Tours
Kids’ Activities
Group Tour Available Upon Request
307-777-7878
Wyoming takes pride in the first
residence provided for governors and
their families. The home has been the
setting for state dinners, first-family
christenings, wedding receptions
and birthday parties.
PLEASE REMEMBER
Please do not touch! Help us preserve our
artifacts for future generations by not sitting
on furniture or touching items as you tour the
home. The mansion is full of many beautiful
things. Most are very delicate and easily
damaged by the oils and dust on your hands.
By not handling the woodwork, wallcoverings
and furnishings, you are helping us preserve
these items for the future. Thank you!
The Historic Governors’ Mansion interprets
the history of the Mansion, the First Families
of Wyoming and Mansion staff from 19051976. Visitors can embark upon self- guided
tours of the home and see both the public and
private areas of the First Executive Mansion
built in Wyoming. Enjoy audio tours,
children’s activities and interactive kiosks to
guide you through the day-to-day life of the
Mansion and its inhabitants.
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
A full calendar of events includes the Annual
Egg Hunt and the popular Tinsel Through
Time Holiday exhibit and activities.
HISTORY
Historic Governors’ Mansion State Historic Site is
administered by the Division of State Parks, Historic
Sites and Trails; Wyoming Department of State
Parks and Cultural Resources.
6/18
Fourteen years after achieving statehood
in 1890, the State of Wyoming built its first
governor’s mansion in 1904. The mansion
was intended to be a home of the people, and
was never enclosed by a fence or had on-site
security. From 1905 to 1976, the mansion was
the residence of 19 Wyoming first families.
Governor Bryant B. Brooks and his large
family were the first occupants. The mansion
was also home to the first female governor in
the United States, Nellie Tayloe Ross. Mrs.
Ross was elected to fulfill the remainder of her
husband’s, Governor William B. Ross, term.
The last family to occupy the mansion was
also Wyoming’s first three-term governor, Ed
Herschler, and his wife, Casey. The Mansion
continues its second century as a valuable
symbol of the state and its history.
LOCATION AND HOURS
The Historic Governors’ Mansion is located
at 300 E. 21st Street in Cheyenne, Wyoming,
a block and a half from the Wyoming State
Museum and five blocks from the State
Capitol Building.
Summer Hours (June 1 – Sept. 30)
Monday - Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Winter Hours (Oct. 1 - May 31)
Wednesday - Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesdays by appointment
ALL HOURS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE
PLEASE CALL FOR SEASONAL CLOSURE
DATES: OCT/NOV/JAN.
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Carriage House at the Mansion can be
reserved for special events year round. This
historic space is perfect for small meetings,
bridal and baby showers and outdoor
weddings in the summer. For reservations,
call the Mansion at 307-777-7878.
SELF-GUIDED TOUR
First Floor
embroidery. The table lamps have lambskin shades.
Kitchen: (Restored to 1937) The kitchen and pantry
FirstPorch
Floor
First Floor
Ramp
FIRST
FLOOR
Entrance Hall:
Staff Dining/
Porch
Sitting
Room
Kitchen
Staff Dining/
Sitting Room
Breakfast
Room
Ramp
(Restored to
Kitchen
1905) The
Breakfast
ceramic tile floor
Room
Governors’
Dining
Den
Room
is original to the
home. The three
Governors’
Dining
Den
Room
combination,
brass ceiling
Drawing
fixtures are
Room
Entrance
Library
similar to
Hall
Drawing
the originals
Room
Entrance
installed during
Library
Hall
construction.
Portico
The gas arm was
lit as a back-up
Portico
system to provide
light. During the
past 100 years,
numerous dignitaries and well-known public figures,
including President Harry Truman, Vice President
Richard Nixon, John D. Rockefeller and writer James
Michener, were greeted and welcomed to the State of
Wyoming in the entrance hall of the mansion.
Library: (Restored to 1905) A Library by Wyoming
authors was established at the Mansion in 1967 by First
Lady Bobbi Hathaway. The collection was moved to the
new Governor’s Residence in 1976.
Drawing Room: (Restored to 1937) Governor John B.
Kendrick in 1915 replaced the original fireplace with
this beautiful oak paneled mantle and chimneypiece.
Dining Room: (Restored to 1937) The set, purchased
in 1937 at the Chicago Furniture Mart, includes a
sideboard, chest of drawers, and a cabinet-on-stand.
The leather upholstery on the chairs is original. During
World War II, Governor and Mrs. Hunt would often
invite homesick soldiers stationed at F.E. Warren Air
Force to dinner.
Governors’ Den: (Restored to the 1950s) This room was
last redecorated during Milward Simpson’s term of
office. Simpson wanted a room in the mansion to reflect
Wyoming’s western heritage. Well-known Wyoming
furniture maker, Tom Molesworth, made the furniture in
Cody, Wyoming. Molesworth constructed the furniture
from native pine and cedar. The upholstered armchairs
show the Indian Paintbrush, the state flower, in punch
were extensively remodeled during Governor Miller’s
administration and restored to its 1937 appearance
with its stainless steel counter tops, center cabinet, and
state of the art Magic Chef 6300-gas range. The floor is
linoleum and the vintage sunflower globe light fixtures
are typical of the 1930’s. Located above the doors of
the mansion are transoms. The transoms were used to
control and enhance ventilation between rooms.
Breakfast Room: (Restored to 1937) This room was
added in 1937 as a family dining room. The bark cloth
curtains are vintage 1930s pattern.
SECOND
FLOOR
Second
Floor
Second
Floor
Bedroom Hall:
Sun Porch
(Restored to
1905) The
original stained
glass window,
Bath
Bath
Children’s
installed when
Bedroom
the house was
built, is the only
Fireplace
stained glass in
Bedroom
the mansion.
When the
mansion was
Second
State Guest
Master
Bedroom
built in 1904,
Bedroom
Bath Bath
each of the six
doorways entered
into a bedroom. In 1937 this floor was renovated, the
two middle bedrooms were eliminated and in their
place bathrooms and several closets were added to
the remaining four bedrooms. The photographs on the
wall are the first ladies of the Territory and State of
Wyoming. Governor Lester C. Hunt established the
collection of first ladies during his time in office from
1943 to 1949.
Children’s Bedroom: (Restored to 1905) The first
occupants of this room were Melissa and Lena Brooks,
the two youngest of four daughters of Governor and
Mrs. Brooks. When the Brooks family moved into the
mansion, the children brought their pet pony from the
V-Bar-V Ranch. Melissa and Lena chose this bedroom
so that they could hear and talk to their pet pony stabled
in the carriage house.
State Guest Bedroom: (Restored to 1940s) The use
of bedrooms on the second floor changed with each
particular first family. One bedroom, however, was
always designated as the state guest bedroom. Many
people have been overnight guests in the mansion,
including Richard Nixon when he was Vice President.
Post 1937 Master: (Restored to 1937) Following the
1937 renovation, two closets and a bathroom
were added to this corner bedroom, and it became the
master bedroom.
Original Master (Fireplace) Bedroom: (Restored to
1905) The architect of the mansion, Charles Murdock,
intended this room to be the master bedroom and was
the only bedroom with a fireplace, and full bathroom.
Sun Porch: (Restored to 1960 era) In 1955, Governor
Milward Simpson created an open air-patio over the
roof of the kitchen and staff dining room. The ceramic
tile floor was laid and the retaining wall built. In
1959, during the term of John J. Hickey, the patio was
enclosed with aluminum windows and corrugated
fiberglass panels. During the administration of Stanley
K. Hathaway, the room was refurbished with redwood
paneling and Andersen windows. The Hathaways lived
in the mansion for eight years, longer than any other
first family. Mrs. Hathaway picked the set of HeywoodWakefield wicker furniture to furnish the room.
THIRD
FLOOR
Third Floor:
Third
Third Floor
Floor
Bath
Maid’s
Sitting Room
(Restored
Sandra
to 1905 and
Maid’s
Hathaway’s
Bedroom
1967) The back
Bedroom
staircase was
used by the staff
Unfinished
and children
Storage Room
to access the
third floor.
The staircase
Portico
is all original,
including the
landing that
cuts one of the second floor windows in half, allowing
natural light to come in on both sides of the landing.
The third floor original design was a full bath, two
bedrooms, one for the cook, one for the maid, and a
maid’s sitting room. In 1939 during the Nels H. Smith
Administration, a husband and wife were hired to
cook and housekeep. An apartment was created in the
basement of the mansion for them and all subsequent
live in staff. The floor was then used as guest quarters
and storage until 1971, when First Lady Bobby
Hathaway had the third floor refurbished for their two
daughters, Susan and Sandra. The existing bathroom
was remodeled, carpeting and wallpaper were added to
the bedrooms. The Brooks and neighborhood children
often used the attic room, located at the end of the
hallway on the third floor, as a stage on which they
would perform plays.
Basement
Basement
Coal
Chute
Staff
Apartment
Boiler
Room
Bath
Architecture
Room
Fallout
Shelter
Laundry
BASEMENT
Architecture Room: Construction began in the spring
of 1904 and was completed that fall. The final cost of
the two-and-one half story house with a full basement
was $33,253.29; this figure included the cost of the lot
($3,000), the landscaping ($2,036) and all the original
furnishings. The house had central plumbing, hot
water heat, and combination gas and electrical fixtures
throughout. The front facade was enhanced by the
portico supported by four Corinthian sandstone columns
cut in sections and sculpted and installed on site.
Staff Apartment: Johneana Scribner and her husband
Charles were the first occupants of the downstairs
basement apartment during the Smith Administration
(1939-1943). Johneana was the mansion’s full-time
cook and her husband was a Union Pacific employee.
He would, in a pinch, help Johneana and the First Lady
carve turkeys and hams for events at the mansion.
Laundry Room: (Restored to 1905, 1930s and 1960s)
Laundry was an important part of day to day life at the
Mansion. With frequent luncheons, dinners and teas
held at the Mansion, laundry was a necessary task.
Fallout Shelter: (Restored to 1959) Participating in a
Home Preparedness Program in 1960, First Lady Win
Hickey chose this room as the family Fallout Shelter
during the Cold War. The program called for outfitting
an existing room with supplies in case of natural or
man-made disaster. The project was paid for from the
family’s private funds and Mrs. Hickey received the
first Civil Defense “Home Preparedness Award” for
the city of Cheyenne.