Feel the weight of this grand house, built in 1856 and now the official reception center for the Government of California. Feel the weight of its stories: it was originally owned and built by Sacramento merchant Shelton C. Fogus, and the mansion’s Renaissance Revival transformation is attributed to Seth Babson, who went on to design the E.B. Crocker residence and art gallery now part of the Crocker Art Museum. This was once the family home of Leland Stanford — the 8th governor of California, founder of Stanford University, and president of the Central Pacific Railroad, one of the Big Four tycoons.
In 1900 the Stanford family donated the estate to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, which ran a children’s home here until 1978. Afterwards the state purchased the property, giving it new life as the capital’s ceremonial reception center and the Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park. Notice the mansion's façade and the grounds that once welcomed Leland Stanford's family, and later the Diocese of Sacramento's children's home.