The replica of Washington’s official logo shows off the simple seal made by Olympia jeweler Charles Talcott. When state officials presented him with a cluttered mock-up, he instead sketched a new design, using an inkwell and silver coil to trace concentric circles, then slapped a postage stamp with George Washington’s face in the middle.

When Marion Hay and his wife, Lizzie, moved into the brand-new mansion in 1909, it was their job to furnish it. The clock they bought from Seattle department store Frederick and Nelson is one of the only original furnishings left, and it was reliably ticking until it lost time in spring 2024.

Though most of its furnishings were replaced during the mansion’s 1970s renovations, the sparkling light fixtures date back to its 1908 beginnings—though a sudden loss of power and light during one of Albert Rosellini’s formal dinners under the sparklers was one of the reasons for the overhaul.

Cracked open to his signature, the leather guest register shows off the 1945 visit of then-Governor Wallgren’s buddy President Harry S. Truman, who hung out while waiting to attend a United Nations formation summit in San Francisco. Truman killed time by fishing with the governor and throwing snowballs at the Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier.

Though most of the 1,500 volumes on the shelves here cover state history, the squat volumes at the center actually belonged to the first governor after statehood. They reflect his contemplative interests: religion and poetry.

Purchased in 1999 for $250,000, the porthole-style portrait comes from an artist who actually got to paint the first president from a live sitting—though this version was made years after that one-on-one.

Per tradition, the city of Olympia provided a set of silver platters, pitchers, and candlesticks to its naval namesake, the cruiser-class USS Olympia. After the ship served in the Spanish-American War and escorted the remains destined for Arlington’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after World War I, it was decommissioned. The navy later loaned the silver back to the city (but still technically owns it).

In a house hung with stately landscapes and still lifes, this more casual corner of the first floor looks more modern for a reason—almost every artwork was made by Governor Inslee. In his spare time, the governor paints on the upstairs family kitchen table.

In their three terms as full-time residents of the mansion, Jay and Trudi Inslee invited the public to trick-or-treat, a mansion Halloween tradition. They give out full-size candy bars from local makers, dress up to a theme, and store their nine-foot plastic skeleton in the attic in the offseason.

The vegetable garden produces enough to donate to a local food bank, though the apple trees were the source of a mistakenly maggot-filled gift Governor Inslee gave to Eastern Washington counties after a wildfire in 2020.