The Governor's Mansion: Lee Years
I recently had the opportunity to interview Jon Lee Taylor, a daughter of J. Bracken Lee who served as governor of Utah from 1949-1957. In our interview Jon shared her memories of living in the Governor's Mansion in Salt Lake City - a big change from the town of Price she grew up in.
“I loved living here. There wasn’t any home in our hometown of Price this big. So it was amazing. In fact it was bigger than some of the public buildings in the town!”
While living at the Mansion, Jon attended West High School. On several occasions she and her mother hosted "Teas." All the girls from West High School were invited to the Mansion for a tour and refreshments.
Here are a few photographs Jon shared with me from her scrapbook that show her family's time in the Governor's Mansion.
“My mother absolutely adored it. I mean she grew up in a log cabin. So living in a mansion was wonderful and she loved the teas and the parties. She just thrived on it.”
Images courtesy Utah State Historical Society, Jon Lee Taylor, Salt Lake Tribune.