10/17/2009:
Asa Fisher built a mansion for his family in 1884, but in 1893 he sold it to the State of North Dakota from which time it served as a residence for the Governor and his family until 1960 when the new governor's residence was constructed near the Capitol. At that point there was considerable thought to destroy the old building and sell the land, but in the 1959 legislative session, Senator Art Link proposed a resolution to make it an historic site.
On this date in 1978, the members of the Society for the Preservation of the Governor's Mansion announced that the cost of restoring the old mansion could run over two hundred thousand dollars. Bit by bit the money was raised and many of the repairs were made.
This coming Wednesday, October 21, 2009 everyone is invited to an open house celebrating the 125th anniversary of the mansion's construction.
Dakota Datebook written by Jim Davis
Sources:
Bismarck Tribune October 17, 1978