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Cranston Historical Society
1351 Cranston, Street, Cranston, RI 02920
401-944-9226
cranstonhistoricalsociety@gmail.com
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Protecting, Preserving and Promoting Cranston's History Since 1949
Governor Sprague Mansion
The Governor William Sprague Mansion was the home of four generations of Spragues and its growth over the years traced the family’s success. It began its history in 1790 as a well to do farmer’s home which featured a central chimney, low ceilings, and simple woodwork. In 1808, when the family started a spinning mill on their property, they added to the house and created a front entrance with a portico.​​
​Then in 1864, when the Sprague family was at its peak as an industrial and political power, Col. Amasa Sprague upgraded the house from the modest homestead of his ancestors to an elegant home where he entertained his wealthy social contacts. The new addition included a wide hall lighted by a fan-shaped window above yet another, more elaborate front door with a bigger portico.
Instead of the plain straight steep stairs of the old part of the house, the staircase in the 1864 part of the mansion is wide and winding. The woodwork of the balusters and railings is carved and decorative. The mantles of the fireplaces in the new section of the house are also representative of the times, Italian marble graces the fireplace in the grand ball room on the first floor where the Sprague’s would have entertained many visitors from the financial, political and sporting circles.​
Two large bedrooms on the second and third floors replaced the more numerous small bedrooms of the old part of the homestead. The rooms on the third floor on the old side of the mansion were small and many and used by William Sprague II to house many of the men who worked in nearby “Sprague’s Woods” and at the Sprague Print Works during the 1830’s before he built the nearby workers’ houses.
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The most striking feature of the mansion at first glance is the cupola high atop the new section of the mansion. From here the Spragues viewed their panorama of Cranston holdings, the orchards; vineyards; woodlands; reservoir; a railroad; a horsecar company; the Cranston Print Works Manufacturing Company and its two villages of mill houses, complete with a school, community store; boarding houses, meeting house, post office, and counting house, sometimes called the Cranston Bank and a horse racing track. They were Masters of all they surveyed. Besides owning one of the country’s largest textile companies, the Spragues also succeeded in politics. William Sprague III (1799 - 1856 ) became the governor of RI in 1838 and then became a US Senator in 1842. His nephew, William IV (1836 – 1915), became governor in 1860 and US. Senator in 1863. As governor, he was the first to answer Lincoln’s call for soldiers to fight in the Civil War and participated in the First Battle of Bull Run. He also married the socialite daughter of Salmon Chase, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury.
The Mansion has been well maintained in its original condition down through the years. Modern facilities have since been tastefully added making the building suitable for the use of large groups. Now restored to much of its elegance and splendor the Mansion is once again used for cultural and civic activities as well as for private rentals. Furnished throughout by gifts and items on loan, the Mansion also holds items that belonged to the Sprague family.
