Governor's Mansion, Wisconsin

99 Cambridge Road, Maple Bluff, Wisconsin

Built 1927, for Carl A. Johnson (1871-1931). Constructed as a private home in the southern Classical Revival style, the mansion stands on 3.7 acres of land along Lake Mendota. Since 1949, it has served as the Executive Mansion, the official residence of the Governors of Wisconsin. The 34-room house is three stories high with a 20,777 square foot basement. The grounds hold seven different garden areas, including a screened-in gazebo and winding walkways that lead to the lake shore. It is free to enter. 
From 1950, Johnson's mansion replaced the former Governor's home in Madison County, Knapp House. The year after Johnson's death, his mansion was purchased by Thomas R. Hefty (1885-1967), President of the First National Bank of Madison. In 1949, Hefty sold the property to the State of Wisconsin for $47,500, when it was used - as it remains today - as the official residence of the Governors of Wisconsin.

Major renovations took place during the 1960s, but the mansion still resembles the original laid out by Johnson and architect Frank Riley. The 16,000 square feet of living space comprises 34 rooms with 7 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms and numerous fireplaces. The wrought-iron fence on the street side of the property originally surrounded the Old Wisconsin State Capitol Building.

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Contributed by Mark Meredith on 20/11/2018 and last updated on 20/11/2018.

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