The architect was Charles Murdock of Omaha, Nebraska. Although stately, the Colonial Revival residence he designed was modest compared to the mansions built in Cheyenne by the cattle barons in the 1880s and 1890s on Carey Avenue and in what is now downtown Cheyenne.

The mansion was never intended to be a show place, intimidating in size or location. Thus it was never enclosed by a fence and it never had on-site security. It was intended to be a comfortable, gracious residence that the people of Wyoming provided their governors and first families. The mansion’s front facade was enhanced by the portico supported by four Corinthian columns cast in sections and installed on-site.

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 and separate carriage house 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 was modern in most respects because it had central plumbing, hot water heat, and combination gas and electrical fixtures throughout.

From 1905 to 1976, the mansion was the residence of nineteen Wyoming first families. Governor Bryant B. Brooks and his family were the first occupants. Brooks, a Natrona County rancher, and his wife, Mary Naomi Brooks had five children-four daughters, Jean, Lena, Abby and Melissa; and a son, Silas, who was the youngest child. The children brought their pet pony from the V-V Ranch with them. The pony was quartered in the carriage house and tended by the resident horse groom. The Brooks were the largest and youngest family ever to occupy the mansion.

The last family to occupy the mansion was also Wyoming’s first three-term governor, Ed Herschler and his wife, Casey. The Herschlers have the distinction of being the last first family to live in the mansion and the first to live in the new Governors’ Residence located in Frontier Park. The Herschlers lived here for almost two years, from January 1975 until October of 1976.

In July 1977, the Historic Governors’ Mansion opened to the public as a historic house museum.

First Floor
Entrance Hall
The ceramic tile floor is original. The pair of combination, brass ceiling fixtures are like the originals. When frequent brown-outs or electrical failures occurred, the gas arm was lit as a back-up system. The elevator chair on the staircase was originally installed for First Lady Casey Herschler who had multiple sclerosis. The steer horn chair, dating from 1900, is an example of organic furniture. Photographs of the Wyoming Territorial and State First Ladies hang on the staircase walls.

Library
The actual library collection was moved to the new Governors’ Residence in 1976. The photos of the Territorial (bottom row) and State Governors (top three rows) were hung when the house became a museum. A twenty minute introduction and tour video can be viewed at any time.

Drawing Room
Two pieces of furniture the mahogany library table and the cane-topped side table-are original furnishings from 1905. The Chickering concert grand piano, made in 1869 in Boston, replaces the original one that was moved to the new residence in 1976. The upholstered furniture was purchased by the state in 1937 at the Chicago Furniture Mart. None has its original fabric. The photo collections shows the first families, 1905-1976. The wallpaper and silk curtains are Scalamandre fabrics installed in 1963. The 1915 oak mantel and over-chimney piece replaced the originals. The round pedestal table, made of inlaid woods identified in the center silver band, was made by local rancher Johnnie Gordon for the Wyoming exhibit at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

Dining Room
The dining room furniture in the Chippendale style, was made in Rockford, Illinois. The leather upholstery is original. The set, purchased in 1937 at the Chicago Furniture Mart, includes a sideboard, chest of drawers, and a cabinet-on-stand.

Breakfast Room
This room was added in 1937 as a family dining room. The set of French pottery plates with rabbits dates from 1901.

Kitchen
The metal cabinets with stainless steel counter tops were installed in 1937. The Tappan Range and Thermadore ovens and bread warmer were installed in 1959. The GE dishwasher, the third in the mansion, was installed in 2001. The inlaid stone pattern seen in the vinyl floor is the same pattern of linoleum that was installed in the 1920s.

Staff Dining Room/Sitting Room
The mansion usually had two full-time, live-in employees, a cook and a housekeeper. Additional help was employed for special events. The room is now used as the museum office.

Governors’ Den
Last redecorated during Milward Simpson’s term (1955-59), the furniture was made in Cody, Wyoming by Tom Molesworth, a well-known Wyoming furniture maker who attended the Art Institute of Chicago. The upholstered arm chairs show the Indian Paintbrush in punch embroidery. The floor lamp shade is made of unborn calf skin. The table lamps have lamb skin shades.

Second Floor
The double window is original stained glass showing a fleur de-lis design. Originally this floor had six bedroom and two full baths. In 1937, the floor was remodeled to its present state of four bedrooms, each with a full bath and closets. The Pioneer Club of Cheyenne donated its 1990 Wyoming Centennial Quilt which hangs in the hallway.

Children’s Bedroom
The room is interpreted to reflect its first occupants—Lena and Melissa Brooks, who chose this bedroom so that they could be close to the carriage house to hear their pet pony.

The red and white “calling card” or “memory” quilt, depicting the names of 800 Cheyenne residents, was made in 1908 by the Presbyterian Aid Society as a fund-raising project. The names of three Brooks children, including the younger brother Silas, appear on the quilt. The oval photograph shows the Brooks’ daughters. The room is furnished with American Eastlake furniture, after Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, an English painter and Keeper of the National Art Gallery in London.

State Guest Bedroom
The walnut twin poster beds have been here since 1937. The handworked oriental rug was made in the 1920s in Persia (present day Iran) in the Sarouk pattern.

Fireplace Bedroom
This room was intended to be the master bedroom and was the only bedroom that furniture is American Eastlake in cherry wood with mahogany panels. The setee and matching chair are Art Nouveau style. The wool patchwork quilt is in the bow tie design.

Second Master Bedroom
The Renaisance Revival furniture is from the estate of Governor Joseph M. Carey. An antique crazy quilt covers the bed. The Campbell County Woolgrowers Auxiliary donated the pelt.

Sunporch
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, Wyoming’s first governor to complete a second term (1967-75), 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 placed the set of Heywood-Wakefield wicker furniture.

Third Floor
The back staircase and the landing that traverses the window, allowing daylight to reach both sides of the landing, are original.

The third floor was used as the maids’ quarters until an apartment was built in the basement of the mansion in 1930.

The wallpaper, curtains and remodeled bathroom date from the early 1970s. The carpeting on the stairs was installed in 1998.

Reprinted from Museum Brochure