CHPB to Present Babbitt/Baxter Home with LeClerq Jones Award

Published on May 17, 2022

CHEYENNE – The Cheyenne Historic Preservation Board (CHPB) will present its annual LeClerq Jones award to the owners of the Babbitt/Baxter Home to recognize their efforts to preserve this historic Cheyenne structure.

The open house will take place Tuesday, May 24^th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at 719 E. 17^th St.

Built in 1882 by Colonel A. T. Babbitt and designed by his wife Louise in the Queen Anne style, much of the original fittings and finish of the home have been retained. Babbitt was an Army physician who served as President of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

In 1889 the home was purchased by George W. Baxter. Baxter was a West Point graduate and Calvary veteran before starting a cattle business in Wyoming. He was appointed Territorial Governor of Wyoming in 1886, but only served 40 days, resigning over a scandal for which he was later cleared. He was a delegate to the 1889 Wyoming Constitutional Convention and made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1890.

After changing hands many times, the home was bought in 1932 by Dr. H. L. Goff who operated a medical practice out of the building until his death in 1958. 

The award is named for LeClerq Jones, who was an amateur historian who dedicated 35 years of his life to documenting and preserving Cheyenne’s history through photos and newspaper clippings. His collection can be seen at the Laramie County Library.

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