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After a 14-year, $22 million restoration and rehabilitation, the Mansion is now open to the public as a museum. It also serves the citizens of California as the state's official reception center for leaders from around the world.
The Leland Stanford Mansion is a stunning example of the splendor and elegance of the Victorian era in California. On your tour of the 19,000-square-foot Mansion you will see:
• 17-foot ceilings
• Gilded mirrors and exquisitely detailed carved moldings
• Beautifully restored woodwork
• Elegant 19th century crystal and bronze light fixtures
• Historic paintings
• Re-created carpeting and draperies based on photographs from the 1870s to match the original interior design
• Original period furnishings that belonged to the Stanfords.
• 19th-Century style gardens
Originally built in 1856 by Gold Rush merchant Sheldon Fogus, the Mansion was later purchased and remodeled (twice!) by Leland and Jane Stanford. Leland Stanford served as Governor of California from 1862-1863. The Mansion served as the office of three governors during the turbulent 1860s - Leland Stanford, Fredrick Low and Henry Haight.
As a pro-Union Civil War governor and president of the Central Pacific Railroad, Leland Stanford negotiated political and business deals at the Mansion that helped complete the transcontinental railroad.
Jane Lathrop Stanford gave birth to their only child, Leland, Jr., here on May 14, 1868. The couple's new wealth enabled them to expand the mansion in 1872, creating the architectural legacy you can see today.
In 1900 Jane Stanford gave the mansion to the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, with an endowment of $75,000 in railroad bonds, for the "nurture, care and maintenance of homeless children." The Sisters of Mercy, and later the Sisters of Social Service, adapted the aging building to their needs. As decades passed, the old neighborhood gave way to state office buildings, and the cost of upkeep grew. In 1987, the Stanford Home for Children moved to new facilities in north Sacramento.
In 1978 the State of California purchased the property for use as a state park. The imposing structure was listed as a National Historic Landmark in May 1987.
Getting There
The Leland Stanford Mansion is located at the corner of 8th and N Streets in downtown Sacramento, two blocks west of the State Capitol. The address is 800 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Enter through the visitor’s gate on N Street located halfway between 8th and 9th Streets. Follow the brick path to the Visitor Center at the rear of the property.
The Leland Stanford Mansion is located at the corner of 8th and N Streets in downtown Sacramento, two blocks west of the State Capitol. The address is 800 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Enter through the visitor’s gate on N Street located halfway between 8th and 9th Streets. Follow the brick path to the Visitor Center at the rear of the property.
Operating Hours & Contact
The Mansion, Visitor Center and Museum Store are open daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Mansion is open for guided tours on the hour from 10am to 5pm. The last tour begins at 4pm.
Due to official uses of the Mansion, tours of the Mansion may be cancelled or restricted at any time. If this occurs, every effort will be made to accommodate guest at an alternate time. The Leland Stanford Mansion is a venue for protocol meetings and receptions for dignitaries hosted by the Governor, the Legislature and Constitutional Officers.
For information regarding current availability for public tours, please call the 24-hour visitor’s information line at 916-324-0575 or 916-324-9535 during business hours.
The Mansion, Visitor Center and Museum Store are open daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. The Mansion is open for guided tours on the hour from 10am to 5pm. The last tour begins at 4pm.
Due to official uses of the Mansion, tours of the Mansion may be cancelled or restricted at any time. If this occurs, every effort will be made to accommodate guest at an alternate time. The Leland Stanford Mansion is a venue for protocol meetings and receptions for dignitaries hosted by the Governor, the Legislature and Constitutional Officers.
For information regarding current availability for public tours, please call the 24-hour visitor’s information line at 916-324-0575 or 916-324-9535 during business hours.
Activities
Tours
Access to the Leland Stanford Mansion is by guided tour only. Tours of the Mansion provide an intimate view of Leland and Jane Stanford’s home as it appeared in the 1860s and 1870s. Careful research has guided the restoration of the Mansion’s rich details, including crystal chandeliers, gilded mirrors, French-polished wood paneling and original Stanford family furnishings. Visitors will also experience the Mansion’s twentieth century legacy as a home for children in need and California’s Protocol Center. Tour fees are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for youth ages 6-17, free for ages 5 and under. Call (916) 324-0575 for more information.
Visitor Center
Interactive exhibits, artifacts, and an orientation film give visitors an opportunity to learn more about the Mansion’s history. The Museum Store is also located inside the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Admission to the Visitor Center is free.
Mansion Grounds
Visitors are welcome to stroll through the Victorian Gardens surrounding the Mansion.
Tours
Access to the Leland Stanford Mansion is by guided tour only. Tours of the Mansion provide an intimate view of Leland and Jane Stanford’s home as it appeared in the 1860s and 1870s. Careful research has guided the restoration of the Mansion’s rich details, including crystal chandeliers, gilded mirrors, French-polished wood paneling and original Stanford family furnishings. Visitors will also experience the Mansion’s twentieth century legacy as a home for children in need and California’s Protocol Center. Tour fees are $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for youth ages 6-17, free for ages 5 and under. Call (916) 324-0575 for more information.
Visitor Center
Interactive exhibits, artifacts, and an orientation film give visitors an opportunity to learn more about the Mansion’s history. The Museum Store is also located inside the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center is open daily from 9:30am to 5pm. Admission to the Visitor Center is free.
Mansion Grounds
Visitors are welcome to stroll through the Victorian Gardens surrounding the Mansion.
History
Stanford-Lathrop Families
Born in 1824 near Albany, New York, Leland Stanford was the fifth of eight children. Although he showed an early talent for business, his parents guided his education toward a law career. While apprenticed to a law firm, Stanford met Jane Eliza Lathrop, the oldest daughter of the Dyer Lathrop family, and subsequently became a regular visitor to their home. Stanford set up a law practice in Wisconsin, and two years later he and Jane were married. The couple soon decided to move to California, but in June 1852 Leland had to leave Jane in New York to care for her ailing father. In July he arrived alone in San Francisco. Following a visit to his brothers – successful Sacramento merchants - Leland went into business with a long-time friend, Captain Nicholas T. Smith. During a three-year separation, the Stanfords wrote to each other regularly. In June 1855, having received news of Jane’s father’s death, Stanford returned to Albany to bring her home. By autumn they were living in a modest house along Sacramento’s bustling waterfront, and Stanford was the sole owner of the Stanford Brothers Store.
Stanford’s help in organizing the state’s new Republican Party assured California’s loyalty to the Union. His early gubernatorial campaigns had met with mixed success; nominated to run in 1859, he was defeated. In 1860 he worked on Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign, and when Lincoln was elected, Stanford served briefly as one of his advisors.
In June 1861 Stanford’s reputation for common sense and sound judgment brought him the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor. Prior to that election, he had been named president of the newly incorporated Central Pacific Railroad of California. Leland Stanford was now one of “The Associates” (later known as the “Big Four”), with Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins. Stanford’s undeniable popularity won him the election on September 4, 1861.
Although suddenly thrust into the role of California’s First Lady in the middle of the Civil War, Jane Stanford was more than ready. When it came to social affairs, she determined various rules of etiquette and presided over formal receptions, dinners and celebrations. Stanford dealt with the critical issues inherent in wartime. In an era when such actions were not incompatible with the office of governor, Stanford promoted legislation that backed the Central Pacific Railroad. He cut the state’s debt in half, and enacted laws dealing with the security of San Francisco’s harbor. In 1863 he declined to run for office again. Because four-year terms had only recently become law, Stanford was the last California governor to serve a two-year term.
Governors Low and Haight
In 1863 unassuming, pro-Union Frederick F. Low, his wife Mollie and their five-year-old daughter Flora became the mansion’s new tenants. During his term Low defended Chinese immigration when it was an unpopular stance. He also signed an act accepting the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Trees Grove from the federal government - the first time a government had set aside lands for public enjoyment. In December 1867 Stanford rented the executive office to Democratic Governor-elect Henry H. Haight. Haight did not reside in the house, but used the office until he could move into the nearly completed State Capitol building. During his term he supported the establishment of an eight-hour workday and the chartering of the University of California.
To this day actions taken by these three capable governors in the Stanford Mansion affect the lives of Californians. The challenges they faced and the decisions they made prove that governing California was serious business in the nineteenth century.
The Stanford Mansion
Over the years Mr. Fogus’ original 4,000-square foot home eventually came to encompass 19,000 square feet. In 1862 the Stanfords added a governor’s office to the home. In the fall of 1871, they began a major expansion of the two-story building. Much of the work involved raising it and adding a story below and a mansard-roofed story above. On February 6, 1872, the Stanfords celebrated the reopening of the house by inviting 700 guests to a party described by newspapers as “brilliantly dazzling.”
A Son’s Legacy
On May 14, 1868, Jane Stanford gave birth to their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr. An energetic, intelligent and thoroughly adored child, Leland Jr. was the light of his parents’ lives. In 1884, while visiting Europe, the boy contracted typhoid fever. Despite the best care by Catholic nuns, he died in Florence, Italy, on March 13, 1884, not quite 16 years of age. Following the death of their son, the Stanfords decided that if they could not educate him, they would build an educational institution in his name. They endowed the Leland Stanford, Jr. University; on November 14, 1885, the new board of trustees accepted ownership of several properties that would become Stanford University.
In June 1893 Stanford, by then a United States Senator, died. It was fully expected that government claims on his estate would keep his widow from achieving their vision. However, the widow and the university found ways to economize, and the danger passed. The Stanfords had always been generous, especially in children’s causes. In 1900 Jane Stanford gave her residence and furnishings to the Catholic Bishop of Sacramento to be used as an orphanage. The Sisters of Mercy, and later the Sisters of Social Service, carefully adapted the building to their needs while keeping its essential features intact. In 1957 the house became a State Historical Landmark, and in 1978 the State of California purchased the property for use as a state park. In 1987 the Stanford Home for Children moved to a new facility.
A Mansion Transformed
In 1991 the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation was formed as part of a groundbreaking public/private fundraising partnership to help restore the home to its appearance during the Stanford family’s residence. Historic photographs and archaeological and historical analyses have guided the restoration of the mansion’s rich details, from crystal chandeliers and gleaming wood paneling, to delicately painted brackets, gilded mirrors and elaborate draperies. Today the Stanford Mansion is again ready to receive guests and to provide opportunities for visitors to learn about the home’s fascinating past and exciting future.
Stanford-Lathrop Families
Born in 1824 near Albany, New York, Leland Stanford was the fifth of eight children. Although he showed an early talent for business, his parents guided his education toward a law career. While apprenticed to a law firm, Stanford met Jane Eliza Lathrop, the oldest daughter of the Dyer Lathrop family, and subsequently became a regular visitor to their home. Stanford set up a law practice in Wisconsin, and two years later he and Jane were married. The couple soon decided to move to California, but in June 1852 Leland had to leave Jane in New York to care for her ailing father. In July he arrived alone in San Francisco. Following a visit to his brothers – successful Sacramento merchants - Leland went into business with a long-time friend, Captain Nicholas T. Smith. During a three-year separation, the Stanfords wrote to each other regularly. In June 1855, having received news of Jane’s father’s death, Stanford returned to Albany to bring her home. By autumn they were living in a modest house along Sacramento’s bustling waterfront, and Stanford was the sole owner of the Stanford Brothers Store.
Stanford’s help in organizing the state’s new Republican Party assured California’s loyalty to the Union. His early gubernatorial campaigns had met with mixed success; nominated to run in 1859, he was defeated. In 1860 he worked on Abraham Lincoln’s presidential campaign, and when Lincoln was elected, Stanford served briefly as one of his advisors.
In June 1861 Stanford’s reputation for common sense and sound judgment brought him the Republican Party’s nomination for Governor. Prior to that election, he had been named president of the newly incorporated Central Pacific Railroad of California. Leland Stanford was now one of “The Associates” (later known as the “Big Four”), with Collis Huntington, Charles Crocker and Mark Hopkins. Stanford’s undeniable popularity won him the election on September 4, 1861.
Although suddenly thrust into the role of California’s First Lady in the middle of the Civil War, Jane Stanford was more than ready. When it came to social affairs, she determined various rules of etiquette and presided over formal receptions, dinners and celebrations. Stanford dealt with the critical issues inherent in wartime. In an era when such actions were not incompatible with the office of governor, Stanford promoted legislation that backed the Central Pacific Railroad. He cut the state’s debt in half, and enacted laws dealing with the security of San Francisco’s harbor. In 1863 he declined to run for office again. Because four-year terms had only recently become law, Stanford was the last California governor to serve a two-year term.
Governors Low and Haight
In 1863 unassuming, pro-Union Frederick F. Low, his wife Mollie and their five-year-old daughter Flora became the mansion’s new tenants. During his term Low defended Chinese immigration when it was an unpopular stance. He also signed an act accepting the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Trees Grove from the federal government - the first time a government had set aside lands for public enjoyment. In December 1867 Stanford rented the executive office to Democratic Governor-elect Henry H. Haight. Haight did not reside in the house, but used the office until he could move into the nearly completed State Capitol building. During his term he supported the establishment of an eight-hour workday and the chartering of the University of California.
To this day actions taken by these three capable governors in the Stanford Mansion affect the lives of Californians. The challenges they faced and the decisions they made prove that governing California was serious business in the nineteenth century.
The Stanford Mansion
Over the years Mr. Fogus’ original 4,000-square foot home eventually came to encompass 19,000 square feet. In 1862 the Stanfords added a governor’s office to the home. In the fall of 1871, they began a major expansion of the two-story building. Much of the work involved raising it and adding a story below and a mansard-roofed story above. On February 6, 1872, the Stanfords celebrated the reopening of the house by inviting 700 guests to a party described by newspapers as “brilliantly dazzling.”
A Son’s Legacy
On May 14, 1868, Jane Stanford gave birth to their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr. An energetic, intelligent and thoroughly adored child, Leland Jr. was the light of his parents’ lives. In 1884, while visiting Europe, the boy contracted typhoid fever. Despite the best care by Catholic nuns, he died in Florence, Italy, on March 13, 1884, not quite 16 years of age. Following the death of their son, the Stanfords decided that if they could not educate him, they would build an educational institution in his name. They endowed the Leland Stanford, Jr. University; on November 14, 1885, the new board of trustees accepted ownership of several properties that would become Stanford University.
In June 1893 Stanford, by then a United States Senator, died. It was fully expected that government claims on his estate would keep his widow from achieving their vision. However, the widow and the university found ways to economize, and the danger passed. The Stanfords had always been generous, especially in children’s causes. In 1900 Jane Stanford gave her residence and furnishings to the Catholic Bishop of Sacramento to be used as an orphanage. The Sisters of Mercy, and later the Sisters of Social Service, carefully adapted the building to their needs while keeping its essential features intact. In 1957 the house became a State Historical Landmark, and in 1978 the State of California purchased the property for use as a state park. In 1987 the Stanford Home for Children moved to a new facility.
A Mansion Transformed
In 1991 the Leland Stanford Mansion Foundation was formed as part of a groundbreaking public/private fundraising partnership to help restore the home to its appearance during the Stanford family’s residence. Historic photographs and archaeological and historical analyses have guided the restoration of the mansion’s rich details, from crystal chandeliers and gleaming wood paneling, to delicately painted brackets, gilded mirrors and elaborate draperies. Today the Stanford Mansion is again ready to receive guests and to provide opportunities for visitors to learn about the home’s fascinating past and exciting future.
Accessible Features
The Leland Stanford Mansion is physically accessible, including the gardens, Visitor Center and restrooms. Elevators provide access to the upper floors of the Mansion’s tour route.
Interior openings to the 2nd and 3rd floors from elevators are approximately 29.5 inches wide. A travel wheelchair and assistive listening systems are available. Visitor Center videos offer Spanish or English captions. A tactile model of the Mansion is also available in the Visitor Center. For information call 916-324-0575.
The Leland Stanford Mansion is physically accessible, including the gardens, Visitor Center and restrooms. Elevators provide access to the upper floors of the Mansion’s tour route.
Interior openings to the 2nd and 3rd floors from elevators are approximately 29.5 inches wide. A travel wheelchair and assistive listening systems are available. Visitor Center videos offer Spanish or English captions. A tactile model of the Mansion is also available in the Visitor Center. For information call 916-324-0575.
Community Trips
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