Trail End Kendrick Mansion | Sheridan, Wyoming

Trail End is a Historic Site on 3.8 acres and showcases a fully furnished historical house museum located at 400 Clarendon Avenue in Sheridan, Wyoming. It was inhabited by Wyoming governor and U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick, and thus is also known as the John B. Kendrick Mansion. The land was purchased in 1895 and construction began on the home from 1908 to 1913. The 13,748 square foot home with 30+ rooms and a ballroom on the third floor, was designed by Glenn Charles MacAlister in a Flemish Revival style and cost $164,000 to build. This was in a period in time when a three-bedroom house with a garage cost $4,000. Trail End incorporated the newest and most advanced technology available at the time: electric lighting, indoor plumbing, telephones, intercom, elevator, dumbwaiter, furnace and vacuum cleaner.  All exhibits in the home today relate to life in the house during the period 1913 to 1933.

Everything used to build Trail End had to be transported to Sheridan on railroad cars:

• Montana granite foundation
• Missouri clay roofing tiles
• Kansas brick
• Honduran mahogany
• Michigan oak woodwork
• Italian and Vermont marble
• French silk damask wall coverings
• Persian rugs
• Stained glass windows from New York City
• Limestone trim came from Indiana
• Window screens were shipped west from Maine

The only locally-produced products were the iron gates – from Sheridan Iron Works and exterior canvas shades made by Sheridan Tent & Awning.

Kendrick was a self-educated gentleman from Texas and had a successful career as a rancher, banker, and politician. In 1879, he arrived in Wyoming driving a herd of Texas cattle. His journey ended in Sheridan, Wyoming, where he decided to settle. In 1891, he wed Eula Wulfjen and they had two children, Rosa-Maye and Manville. In 1914, he was elected Governor of Wyoming and 2 years later US Senator – thus having little time to spend there. The family used the mansion primarily as a summer home. When Kendrick passed away in 1933, Eula moved back to Trail End with Manville and his family. The property was used by the family for years, but in 1968 the Sheridan Historical Society purchased the property and in 1969 it opened as a community museum. Due to the expense of caring for the mansion, it was transferred to the state of Wyoming in 1982. Open April thru December 15, visitors can arrange guided tours ahead of time or follow a self-guided tour of the mansion, including equipment for audio tours(which is what I did and it was very good). Surrounding the mansion is many trees and wildlife and a trail system that is open to the public at no charge. The trail system leads to the Trails End Park which houses buffalo and elk – I do this walk weekly with my yellow labrador and the mountain views are breathtaking. Check museum hours here.