On This Date in Minnesota History: May 24

May 24, 1965 – Minn. Governor Karl Rolvaag signed a bill (Laws 1965 c684) on this date that permitted the state to acquire a governor’s mansion.¹ The bill designated the residence “as the ‘State Ceremonial Building’ for official use for state ceremonial functions and as a governor’s residence.”⁴

The nine-bedroom, eight-bathroom² house on Summit Ave. in St. Paul was donated to the state by Mrs. A. M. Dodge and Mrs. E. J. Moles, Jr., the daughters of the late lumber baron Horace Hills Irvine³, the original owner of the home. In 1966, “the Rolvaags become the first gubernatorial family to live in the residence.”⁵

The mansion was named to the National Register of Historic Places on Dec. 16, 1974.

¹St. Paul Pioneer Press; “Rolvaag Signs Bill for Governor’s Home”; May 25, 1965; p. 13

²http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2009-06-11-minnesota-governors-mansion_N.htm

³St. 2Paul Pioneer Press; “Governor’s Mansion ‘Tops’”; May 26, 1965; p. 8

4http://www.admin.state.mn.us/govres/history.html

⁵http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/homegarden/142925695.html

Minn. Governor's Residence

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Minnesota_Governor's_Residence.jpg