trail end state historic site

Very comfortable atmosphere to take your time and wander through or have a tour with a friendly and informative guide. Check the schedule for special events throughout the year. The Christmas events are especially wonderful!

This is a veritable one of its kind mansion built by a celebrated Wyoming cattle owner and politician for his wife--and it is still GRAND!! The displays change each year, and focus on a different aspect of history of the house. A must-see for people who love accurate depictions of the time, with almost all items original to the house!!!

We got there after it closed so we just explored the grounds and took pics of the outside of the house. We hope to see the inside our our return trip next week.

The grounds were beautiful and the home is so well cared for. We visited on a weekday afternoon and were the only people there, and the staff was very helpful. The self-guided tour with allowed us to go through the house at our own pace and be able to read all of the posted notes on the furnishings and architecture. A brochure was also provided to guide us and give helpful information. We love to tour old homes on vacation, and this one did not disappoint!

The staff at Trail's End creates a new theme each year, so it's well worth making a visit each summer and again for the Christmas open house. Of course, the main furnishings remain in place, but there is always something new from their collection that goes along with the annual theme. The grounds are always beautiful.

If you appreciate architecture at all, you'll love the historic Trail End home. Built by Senator Kendrick, this palatial home belies the treasures found inside.From the regal ballroom on the top floor to the then ultra modern laundry in the basement, you marvel at what the rich of the late 1890's briefly called home.

I am a huge fan of historic homes, and this was one of the best I have been to in awhile. The house is stunning, the views breathtaking, the grounds immaculate. I must have taken 308093 photos (although no flash photography inside), and still revel the thought of looking through them to walk down memory lane. I bought a fantastic book to learn more about this family, and would go back again any time.

I love touring historic homes and this one was no exception. The time and effort that went into the construction is impressive. Hand painted walls, rugs loomed to repeat the wall design. An especially large kitchen to make meal prep more efficient. Very meticulous work in the construction and in the continuing restoration and upkeep. I especially loved the third floor ballroom. What parties it must have seen!

Exhibits change yearly, always keeping in theme with what the Kendrick family would have been experiencing when living in the house.

ABSOLUTELY worth stopping! For $2.00 per person with in-state admission, you can easily spend a good hour touring the house and grounds! Beautiful home and great presentation of history!

Loved seeing the diorama, loved the tour of the rooms of this mansion and hearing the history behind it. Will come back to see this again and learn more. We had a wonderful visit and the staff was very helpful and knowledgeable. Can't WAIT to come back.

This is a beautiful mansion with lots of Wyoming history. We especially liked the wall of photos with all the famous people/presidents who knew the family.

We had a couple of hours to invest in historical sights during a mid afternoon arrival in Sheridan and headed strait to Trail End which was open until 6p.m. The 1913 constructed mansion and carriage house both sit on nearly 4 beautiful acres in a residential neighborhood near downtown Sheridan. Built by and once home to Texas born cowboy turned self made man John Kendrick who became a Wyoming State Senator, Governor and then in 1916 Wyoming's US Senator, the property is now owned and operated by the State of Wyoming as a historic site. One of the things that makes this such a well maintained, fabulous tour back in time is that it was owned continually by the Kendrick family until the last member, John Kendrick's son Manville, moved on in the early 1960's at which time the state acquired it.Although the carriage house is now leased to a theater group and no longer open to tour, the entire 13,748 square foot mansion and all of the grounds are open to the public. See their website for hours which change seasonally.GOT A KICK OUT OF THIS "DO AS I SAY..."My husband and I noted during our walk about of the house that although Governor Kendrick supported legislation in Wyoming that limited alcohol and then as U.S. Senator he voted in favor of the January 1919 ratification of 18th Amendment which resulted in Prohibition effective January 1920 (until repeal in 1933 through passage of the 21st Amendment) neither he nor his wife believed Prohibition applied to them or their guests. In fact there was a grand for its' time liquor storage cabinet built in behind paneling in the main entry hall. In addition, an elevator shaft they built but in which they did not install an elevator, was used for storage for their fine wine collection. FAVORITE ROOMS & FEATURESWorth a linger for me were the butler's pantry and kitchen on the first floor, the stellar for its' day powder bath on the first floor and the maid's quarters and bath on the upper floor. Oh, and that liquor storage behind the paneled wall of the entry of course. :-) Plus the detail and craftsmanship in the woodwork throughout the house, in particular the office, living room, main hall and ballroom, are beautiful. Photos are allowed but without flash so couldn't capture this for postiing images. BOTTOM LINE:Touring this house and the grounds was a delightful way to spend a couple of hours in Sheridan and the highlight of our relatively lowlight stop over there. We recommend it. Even children will likely enjoy this. THIS N THAT:1) ENTRY FEE: into the mansion is only four bucks, two bucks if you have a Wyoming driver's license. No fee required to walk the lovely grounds.2) PARKING: two spots of accessible (aka ADA) parking are at the back of the mansion near an accessible ramp. Otherwise you need to park on street in the neighborhood in which the mansion is located and make a relatively short walk up the driveway to the front door.3) ACCESSIBILITY: Good news for folks like me who can't climb stairs (I have MS), all four floors of the mansion are accessible by an (small and ancient but it works) elevator. Come up the ramp the back of the building to avoid the stairs at the front. You'll enter the back door at which there is a button to push to ring the docent who will promptly let you in. Nice.

I really liked all the history we learned when we visited. It wasn't anything huge and spectacular but for the price ($2 for residents and $4 for out-of-staters) it was fun. I was amazed to see the luxuries people had at the turn of the century.

We spent a delightful 45-minutes touring the lovely 1913 Flemish-Revival mansion that was once home to John Kendrick and family. Kendrick was known as the "Cowboy Senator," and was also governor of Wyoming at one time. The handsome home is set on 3.8 acres on a hill above the town of Sheridan -- a bit off the beaten path, but not hard to find. The cost was only $4 each for a self-guided tour of the four-story house. The woman at the door was very nice.The grand staircase is grand indeed with stained glass at the first landing and a view up through the stairwell all the way to the top. Dark wood (Hondurian mahogany) dominates on the first floor, with lighter paint colors on the second floor. The mostly original furniture is quite nice.The second floor bedrooms and bathrooms were interesting. Especially nice were the informative signs posted at the doorway of each room, along with photos of who used that room. There are also informative notes on the walls about the interesting family. The third floor included servants quarters, but my favorite of all the rooms was the large ballroom that spread across a big portion of that floor. It has Tiffany-styled chandeliers, a muscians' loft, and handy velvet cushion-covered seats built in along all the walls. With the high-pitched ceiling and nifty little nooks, it is a neat room -- one that was also sometimes used for a playroom. That would have been funto be a kid playing up there.There are bathrooms and additional exhibits in the basement. The Senator's wife, Eula, lived there until she died in 1961 and then, I believe, they donated the house for the rest of us to enjoy. I'd highly recommend a visit to this lovely place.