Historic Governor’s Mansion

In 1893, the state legislature allotted a meager six thousand dollars for the purchase or construction of a suitable residence for the governor. Mindful of the appropriation’s insufficiency to build a new residence, a house built by prosperous businessman Asa Fisher was purchased. The house served as the official residence of North Dakota governors until 1960, when a new executive mansion was constructed at the southwest corner of the state capitol grounds. The former governor’s residence is a two-and-a-half-story wooden house that shows Stick Style influence. Front and rear entrance porticoes open onto a large central hallway. Ground-floor spaces include front and rear parlors, dining room, pantry, and kitchen. An open staircase leads to three upper-floor bedrooms and a sewing room. Two smaller upstairs bedrooms and a separate bath are accessed from a rear stairway that serves the kitchen. An architecturally distinctive carriage house at the rear of the property was converted to living quarters for a caretaker. Since 1975, the house has been operated by the State Historical Society as a conference facility and historic house museum highlighting the restoration process.