The following information comes from the state's historic properties website (
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From its construction as Kentucky's first governor's residence and office of the governor, through its nearly 50 years as the official residence of our lieutenant governors, this building has seen more historic events and has borne witness to more important persons than almost any home in the state.
It was built in 1797-8 in the Federal style, and was first occupied by our second governor, James Garrard and his family. The foundation for the house was elevated above the Frankfort flood plain.
From 1798 until 1914, 35 governors and their families lived and entertained here. The mansion also was the site of the office of the governor until the 1872 annex building was built next to the Old State Capitol in downtown Frankfort. For several years, even after the governor's office relocated to the Old Capitol Annex, it remained a work space for the governor.
The governor's palace as it was called then was not exactly a palace. Many of the governors and their wives had several children, and it is difficult to imagine how they all lived comfortably in this house.
When General Lafayette of France visited Frankfort on his tour of the southern states in 1825, Gov. Desha received and met with General Lafayette at the Weisiger Tavern but did not make a visit to the governor's palace. However, other dignitaries and notables did visit the Governor's Mansion, including Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay, William Jennings Bryan, and Theodore Roosevelt.
Due to the continued speculation, for many years, of whether the capital would remain in Frankfort the Governor's Mansion sometimes suffered from neglect and lack of funding for renovations. A major fire in the 1890s destroyed many of the Governor's papers and state documents. James McCreary was the last governor to live here. Upon the completion of the New State Capitol across the river in 1910, it was finally decided to replace this little old house in poor condition with a more substantial residence for the first family.
This building remained mostly empty and continued to deteriorate over the next 30 years, except for a short time that the State Highway Patrol used the building as a headquarters and dormitory. Gov. Simeon Willis saved the building from demolition in 1948 and appropriated money to stabilize the building. A major renovation on the building was completed in 1956 and the Old Governor's Mansion then became the official residence of Kentucky's lieutenant governors.
The last lieutenant governor to live in the mansion moved out in 2002 to make way for an extensive renovation and reconstruction. Upon completion of this project, the first floor formal public areas are depicted in a way that would represent a Kentucky home in the early to mid-19th century.
In 1971, the Old Governor's Mansion was added to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1973, a small garden and patio area were added to the grounds. In 2000, a larger, more formal garden was completed as part of the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History garden project. This new garden consists of native Kentucky flowers and plants, as well as a fountain.