Original Governor’s Mansion - Helena, MT
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 46° 35.266 W 112° 02.093
12T E 420719 N 5159875
For Forty Six years the home of the governor of the State of Montana, in 1959 this mansion was replaced by a new mansion much nearer the capitol building.
Waymark Code: WMWHNA
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 09/07/2017
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member bluesnote
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This elegant Queen Anne style structure began life in 1885 as a private residence, remaining so until its purchase by the State of Montana in 1913 to become the governor's mansion. It seems strange that the state chose to purchase this house for use as the governor's mansion, as the capitol, built in 1899, was a long ten blocks away. When the new governor's mansion was built adjacent to the capitol building, this structure was first used for offices, then became vacant for a while before being restored and becoming the Original Governor’s Mansion Museum. The museum, open year round with restricted hours through the winter, offers a Virtual Tour of the mansion.
Original Governor’s Mansion The handsome, three-story pressed brick, terra cotta and stone Victorian mansion was designed by Cass Gilbert in 1884. At a cost of $85,000, the structure was completed in 1885.

Gilbert was a distinguished architect from New York and Minnesota. He insisted on using such materials as brick from Ohio, granite from Vermont, and interior hardwoods from the East and South America. The granite eventually was obtained from the Helena area. The interior has seven fireplaces and twenty rooms.

Fine woodworking in quartered oak, mahogany and cherry is found throughout the home. The main floor of the home included two parlors, a circular dining room, a den, and a very large kitchen.

William A. Chessman was born in Massachusetts in 1830 and spent time at placer diggings in California and Virginia City, Montana, before coming to Helena in 1865. In Helena he worked his way up to become president of the Consolidated Water Company which in future years became the city's water system. In 1875 he married and bought the property at 6th and Ewing.

The mansion at 6th and Ewing was built ten years later in 1885 to become the elegant home of William A. Chessman and family, prominent Helena citizens. The home was furnished in the fashionable decor of the time with fine furnishings and furniture of the period to match the beautiful interior woodwork. The second floor of the mansion was used as sleeping quarters and the third floor was used for social events and recreation. The first floor contained the living, dining, and cooking areas. Victorian style architecture characterized the exterior as well as the interior.

The property was subsequently owned by Peter Larson, a railroad contractor, and G. H. Conrad, a bank official, before being purchased in 1913 by the State of Montana to be the first official governor's mansion.

It has served nine Montana governors during 46 years and was finally replaced by the new executive mansion in 1959.
From the NRHP Nomination Form
ORIGINAL GOVERNOR’S MANSION

Montana’s Original Governor’s Mansion was built as a private residence for the William Chessman family in 1888, and was home to the Peter Larson family and the Harfield Conrad family before the state purchased it (along with much of the Conrads’ furnishings) in 1913. Until 1959, it served as the official residence of Montana’s governors, their families, and service staffs. Over the following decade it sometimes sat empty and sometimes held state offices, its interior subdivided with temporary walls. A citizen group initiated restoration in 1969, and returned the building to state control in 1980. Today it appears much as it did in 1913, when Governor Samuel V. Stewart, his wife, and three young daughters moved in. Architects of the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse and many Helena homes, Hodgson, Stem and Welter designed this Queen Anne style structure, which is characterized by a fanciful, irregular outline filled with gables, turrets chimneys, balconies, and dormers. The style is one of several romantic, nostalgic modes popular at the time America moved into industrialization and mass production. Although its ground floor rooms served the public at official functions, the upper floors were very much a family home. As Governor Stewart’s executive secretary wrote, “It is a home of democracy … an American home—a plain American home, if you please—like thousands of homes in this country.”
From the NRHP plaque at the building
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Artist: Cass Gilbert

Address:
304 North Ewing Street Helena, MT United States 59701

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