LELAND STANFORD MANSION STATE HISTORIC PARK

Leland Stanford was California's ^8th governor from 1862 to 1863 and senator from 1885 to 1893. He owned a farm that later became Stanford University, of which he was the founder. Opened in 1891, it soon rivaled the greatest universities such as Harvard.

Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park is a protected site in Sacramento. Just two blocks from the Capitol State building, the mansion remains as it was when inhabited by Leland Stanford, his wife Jane Lathrop Stanford and their only son Leland Junior. The mansion served as the seat of government for three governors (Leland Stanford, Frederick Low and Henry Haight) from 1861 to 1867, before being completed by the State Capitol Building. Today, receptions are still occasionally held here.

Leland Stanford was one of the four great railroad magnates, and president of the Central Pacific Railroad. He was a man of power and had achieved great success in the space of a decade. Following the death of their son in the early ^20th century, Leland's wife, Jane Lathrop Stanford, donated their home to the Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, to be used as an orphanage for needy children. The Victorian mansion was later restored and opened to the public in 2005. The furnishings are original, and the history of the house is brought to life by passionate guides.