Archives West Finding Aid

In 1959 Governor Hugo Aaronson vacated the 1888 Queen Anne Mansion at 304 Ewing Street, and moved to the new Executive Mansion at 2 Carson Street. Originally, the Helena Chamber of Commerce undertook the historic preservation and restoration of the old mansion. Soon however, Helena Mayor Dave Lewis and the City Commission negotiated for the Mansion to be leased to the City of Helena so that it could be restored and maintained as a historic museum. To oversee this effort, in 1969 Mayor Lewis appointed the Governors' Old Mansion Restoration Committee. The committee consisted of the following people: Mr. Joe A Maierle (Chairman), Mr. John Schroeder (Co-Chairman), Mr. George Schotte, Mr. Lester Loble II, Mrs. Sherman W. Smith, Mayor Dave Lewis (Ex-Officio member), Mrs. Tim Babcock, Mrs. Sam C. Ford, Mrs. Forrest Anderso, Mrs. Fred Gannon, and Mrs. J.R. Kaiserman.

In 1969, the Legislative Assembly appropriated thirty-five thousand dollars towards initial repairs of the building; these funds were used to restore the exterior. To supplement these funds, the City of Helena filed an application with the Department of Housing and Urban Development for a Historic Preservation Grant, and the Committee worked to secure funds from donors around the State. The Committee and the Chamber also introduced a bill into the 1971 Legislative Assembly for an additional thirty-nine thousand dollars to match Federal funds to complete the restoration at a cost of seventy-eight thousand dollars.

By 1980 the City of Helena was unable to continue management of the Mansion financially. The State terminated the lease to the city and the Montana Historical Society (MHS) took responsibility for restoration, maintenance and management of the Mansion. The Mansion Committee continued to function as the policy and management authority, consistent with the overall policies of the MHS, while the Governors' Original Mansion Restoration Society Board's primary function was to act as a fund-raising entity and sponsor annual events to raise money. The Secret Garden Tour, created in 2005, is now the main fund raising effort of the Original Governor's Mansion Restoration Society Board (now called the Governors' Original Mansion Restoration Society Advisory Council), a volunteer group of Montana citizens dedicated to OGM restoration projects.