I wrote a couple weeks ago about how when Nebraska went from being a territory to a state, there was some dispute over where the capital should be… Omaha or Nebraska City? A group of three men was chosen to settle the matter. They chose the little town of Lancaster, and the name was changed to Lincoln. The home of one of those three men is still standing, and to check it out, we headed to downtown Lincoln.

The house is just a block from the State Capitol building, and the capitol is so impressive I had to take a picture… I hope to study it more in the future.

The Capital Commission was composed of the Governor, David Butler, The Auditor, John Gillespie, and the Secretary of State, Thomas P. Kennard. John Keys Winchell, from Chicago, designed houses for each of the three on the commission. The homes were built to be stately, impressive homes to instill confidence in the new state’s capital. Below is a photo of Kennard’s house in the center, with Gillespie’s house behind it. (I wasn’t there at the taking of this photo.) (Of note is that Winchell also designed the state’s first insane asylum.)

The home today is surrounded by houses and government buildings. The open area next to the Kennard house, inside the white fence, is now the location of the Ferguson house. More on that in a minute.

Kennard sold his home in 1887. Since then it has seen many varied uses… a single family residence, fraternity or sorority houses, a boarding house and private boys’ home. The home is the oldest remaining building in the original plat of Lincoln.

In 1923 the kitchen and bedroom wing in the rear of the house was demolished, and a new kitchen built in the remaining structure. No record is found about why this change was made. In 1992 an archaeological dig found some interesting traces of the old building. A cistern, a well, and “Hooker & Orr.” I have been unable to figure out what that might be. Even the Nebraska Statehood Memorial folks don’t have much information about it. I can guarantee some bizarre results if you try to Google it.

A nice view of the capitol from the back yard… but of course that building had yet to be built when Kennard lived here.

[ I had to refresh my education regarding the usage of “Capital” and Capitol” while writing this post. “Capital” can refer to something big, important, related to money, punishment including death, or the city of the center of government. (Interesting that death and government are so closely related.) “Capitol” refers to the building that legislators use. So I hope I’ve used it correctly above. ]

William Henry Ferguson built this imposing home from 1909 – 1911. It is considered one of the best examples of Second Renaissance Revival style in Lincoln, and maybe the whole state of Nebraska. The state purchased it in 1963, and it is now administered by the State Historical Society. It seems to be just used for offices, and no tours are available.

The house behind the Ferguson place is gorgeous and very ornate. It could use a bit of maintenance, but I wouldn’t like to be the guy who had to repaint it! All I have been able to find out about it was that it was recently used as a sorority house by students of University of Nebraska, Lincoln. It looks like the sorority has closed.

Just down the street, towards the capitol building, is the Governor’s Residence. Tours are available, and I hope to explore this site in the future. Stay tuned!

Lincoln is very good at providing gorgeous sunsets. I’ll close today with this one: