Abstract
In the field of public history today, it is generally argued that sites such as historic house museums should interpret the history of “others” (i.e. servants, slaves, workers) as well as that of famous residents, so as to provide visitors with a more complete and accurate history. California’s Governor’s Mansion currently operates as a State Historic Park. Interpretive programming consists of guided tours, outreach programs and holiday events. All programming focuses predominantly on the gubernatorial families who resided in the home, and on the large collection of original artifacts extant within the Mansion. There is at present no regular or comprehensive interpretation of the servants and working culture of the Governor’s Mansion. This thesis project, through creation of historical profiles of five Governor’s Mansion servants, provides material with which to incorporate servant history into the Mansion’s interpretive programming, thereby providing visitors with a more complete history of the site. Sources used to develop the profiles included the oral history and the secondary and primary document collections of the Governor’s Mansion State Historic Park. Equally important were the resources and collections of the California State Library, the Sacramento County Recorder’s Office, the Sacramento Room of the Sacramento County Public Library, the United States Census Bureau, and the library of California State University Sacramento. Additionally, interviews were conducted with staff at the Governor’s Mansion, historic house museum professionals, members of the greater Sacramento community, and with some of the descendants of the servants being profiled.