05/27/2026
I know today’s post is not strictly about the Capitol, but it is hard not to mention Capitol Building Commission President Erasmus Nagle’s mansion on the corner of 17th and House when talking about the construction of the Wyoming State Capitol Building. This building’s close connection is due to Nagle’s use (some said misuse) of his extensive Commission connections. Nagle enlisted the services of both the architect, David W. Gibbs, and the contractors, A. Feick & Co., to whom he provided his own plans for the mansion and ‘oversaw’ the work himself. John Feick wrote several times to family about how Nagle was “bothering the life out me” about the progress of his house.
Ground was broken in December 1886 and work continued in tandem with the Capitol. Many of the same suppliers and workmen were used on both job sites. Nagle, never one to waste a good deal, purchased the Rawlins sandstone that was rejected for the Capitol for the shipping charges alone. The stone had been declared unfit by the contractors and Commission due to its poor quality and an abundance of hairline cracks, but this did not deter Nagle.
Nagle and his wife held an large open house to celebrate and show off the completed mansion in July 1888. No expense had been spared in the interior finishes and the house boasted the latest in electric lights, sewer and forced air heating. The barn Nagle had purchased from the Commission and moved from the Capitol grounds may also have been placed on the property, or that of his first house next door.
Sadly, Erasmus would only enjoy the fruits of his labors for 2 years before his death in January 1890. His widow and son sold the home to then Senator F.E. Warren in 1910 and moved to California. After Warren’s death, his widow donated the house to the YWCA, where it served as their headquarters until it was sold back into private hands in 1985. In 1997, the building was purchased by the current owner, remodeled and opened it as the Nagle Warren Mansion Bed and Breakfast.
The prophecy of the Capitol builders was fulfilled in the 1960s when crumbling stone threatened the structure. A layer of stucco was applied to the sandstone save it from collapse.
(Sub Neg 12979, photo by J.E. Stimson)