5 Great Reasons To Visit The Christmas Historic Governors Mansion In Cheyenne

As you walk through the front door to the room to the right, you'll see "The Golden Age of Glass Ornaments", which glistened the tree during the 30's. American's shopped Woolworth's and their local Five and Dime stores to buy Santa's, bells, birds and pine cones to decorate their tree. Trees were a great escape from the harsh realities of the Great Depression.

This classic Christmas story was written in 1822 and changed the image and duty of Santa Claus. Prior to the publication, Santa was depicted as a thin, old man, who walked from town to town spreading cheer and toys. You can find this room on the second floor of the mansion.

This is a tradition that was started by former first lady Roberta L. "Bobby" Hathaway. During the Christmas holiday, she would always display a white, flocked tree, with bird ornaments, on the second floor of the mansion.

The war effort of World War II pushed America's ornament industry into high gear. Because everyone was contributing to the war effort, even the metal tops on the Christmas bulbs disappeared and were replaced with paper ones, which are on display at the mansion.

In the 1880's, the 'Glitzy-Gaudy" tree was in vogue as Victorians reflected their love of excess. The Victorian tree was crowded with heavily loaded  homemade and commercial ornaments made of wax, metal, felt and wood. More families continued to use candles to light there trees, rather than the new 'electric lights' available.