Helena’s Original Governor’s Mansion Reopens After Exterior Restoration

October 15, 2026

The Helena’s Original Governor’s Mansion is open again, with Victorian-era care applied to the parts of the house that take the worst of Montana’s weather.

Our friends at the Montana Historical Society have reopened the Queen Anne-style residence at 304 N. Ewing Street following an exterior restoration completed through the Governor’s Long-Range Building Program. Free Saturday tours have resumed, with slots at 1:00 and 2:30 p.m.

Helena businessman William Chessman built the 21-room mansion and its two-story brick carriage house in 1888. The state bought the property in 1913, and for nearly fifty years it served as the official residence of nine Montana governors and their families. The Historical Society has run it as a museum ever since, keeping the rooms much as they looked when the governors lived there.

The mansion closed its doors last November so contractors could repair and repaint the upper balustrade, main level deck, and front porch. The crew used materials and techniques appropriate to the building’s era, taking on structural work essential to the site’s long-term safety.

For Darby Bramble, museum education officer with the Montana Historical Society, the project adds a layer to what visitors encounter on a tour. “The restoration gave the mansion’s exterior the care it deserved, and now visitors can see the results firsthand,” she says, noting that the tours “bring the Victorian era to life through artifacts and stories from the families who lived here, and now we have the added dimension of talking about what it takes to preserve a historic home like this one.”

Each hour-long tour is free, though advance registration at mths.mt.gov/tours is required.

Two special evenings close out the fall calendar. On Friday, October 31, the Historical Society will hold Halloween-themed tours of the 21 decorated rooms at the usual 1:00 and 2:30 p.m. slots, with costumes welcome. From 5:00 to 7:00 that evening, families can stop by for trick-or-treating on the grounds, collect calling cards from the mansion’s historic ghosts, follow a trail of carved pumpkins, and venture into the decorated carriage house. Then on Thursday, November 27, holiday tours take over the mansion at 1:00 and 2:30 p.m., with the rooms dressed for the season.

Registration for all tours is at mths.mt.gov/tours.