Walking Tour of Kendrick Mansion Features Landscaping

On June 14, the SCLT Explore History Program held a Walking Tour at Trail End, with a talk on the mansion’s landscaping by Sharie Shada, Superintendent at Trail End.

Shada talked briefly about the history of John B. Kendrick and his home, Trail End. The house and grounds are now a Wyoming State Historic Site. The Kendrick Mansion is built in what is referred to the Flemish Revival style, and it provides a glimpse of life during the period 1913 to 1933.

When the Kendrick’s started building the house in 1908, there were no other houses around it. In 1911, Kendrick hired a Minneapolis firm of landscapers to design a tree-filled, semi-formal space, more of a park than a yard.

The landscaping was known as the Natural Style, by-passing the formal gardens and hedges in favor of a more informal grouping of native trees and paths.

While on the front lawn of the Mansion, Shada pointed out the large trees framing the vista of the town below, and the land stretching towards the Powder River, where Kendrick had vast ranch holdings. Another vista is the Bighorn Mountains to the west.

Shada said that several of the original trees still stand, however they are growing older and some have been replaced over the years. She pointed out that along the north side of the house were blue spruce, planted to form a windbreak and give the house more privacy.

After the landscape tour, Bill Yellowtail, a member of the Crow Nation, talked about the Crow Migration to this area, and how the Crow felt about the Big Horn Mountains.

At one time the Crow, or Hidatsa, lived in what is now North Dakota. He said that two young men went on a ‘fast’ or vision quest to find their spiritual direction, one of the young men, Red Shirt, was told to stay there and raise corn. The other, No Vitals, was told to find a plant, sacred tobacco, which is different from regular tobacco. He took several followers and came West. They first went south, then moved northward, following No Vitals’ divine guidance.

After all the travels, they began to lose hope that they would ever find their heartland. Yellowtail said, “Right here, on Little Goose Creek near Big Horn, they stopped and camped. No Vitals told them to rest.”

When he was fasting, the spirits gave him guidance, and they showed him that the scared tobacco grew along Little Goose Creek.

After Yellowtail’s talk, the group went to the Kendrick Arboretum on the grounds of Trail End. The Arboretum is on just under 8.5 acres and can be accessed with the City of Sheridan’s pathway system.

Kelly Norris, District Forester Wyoming State Forestry Division, talked the Arboretum, and some of the challenges, such as temperature extremes and heavy snows, that they faced with some of the non-native trees. Some species they have planted include oak, catalpa, and larch as well as the unique species of magnolia and ginkgo.

Other trees and shrubs include lilac, cherry, crabapple, chinkapin, pin and red oak. There are also education signs about each tree, with Sheridan’s signs being unique. Norris explains.

There are two trees of each species, and there were originally 56 trees total. Clark Van Hoosier, City Arborist, said he lost count of how many trees there are today. He also talked about caring for the trees at the arboretum, and some of the challenges he faces in keeping the trees alive, including control of beetles and other insects that target trees.

As well as the trees and shrubs, there are views of the Big Horn Mountains, a petrified wood walking path, abundant green space and wildlife viewing opportunities at the Kendrick Mansion and the arboretum for all to enjoy.

This tour will be repeated on June 21 at 10:30 a.m. contact the Sheridan Community Land Trust for more information.