Austin master builder Abner Cook was responsible for the design and construction of the Governor’s Mansion Texas.

Approximately a decade after Texas became a state in 1845, the legislature appropriated $14,500 for the Mansion. The building contract was then handed to Abner Cook, who designed the residence in the fashionable Greek Revival style.

He used his own clay pit on the Colorado River, not far from the construction site, to form the bricks that still support the Mansion's walls today, demonstrating his vision and inventiveness.

The years that followed brought a plethora of colourful stories to life within these walls – with plenty of art and antique collections also on display.