Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Original Governor's Mansion
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 16, 2021
1. Original Governor's Mansion Marker
Inscription.
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.”
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
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you please—like thousands of homes in this country.”
Location. 46° 35.27′ N, 112° 2.101′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. Marker is at the intersection of North Ewing Street, and East 6th Avenue when traveling north on North Ewing Street,. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 304 North Ewing Street, Helena MT 59601, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 18, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 18, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 89 times since then and 6 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 18, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.