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heridan’s historic gem, Mount View, is a stunning brick home nestled atop a hill offering a picturesque view of the Big Horn Mountains and the city’s cemetery. Built in 1912, this six-foot high hedge-enclosed property is a testament to the city's rich history and charm. The home boasts more than 6,000 square feet of living space and is adorned with original woodwork, including quarter-sawn oak and Honduran mahogany. The electric wiring has been redone, along with the kitchen and some plumbing, while maintaining its original light fixtures, wallpaper, wood flooring, and charm.
The homeowner, Susan Brayton, has owned the property twice, most recently since 2003. She plans to put it up for sale in the near future as she intends to travel more during her retirement. Brayton has always been fond of the house, which she describes as "happy" and "peaceful". The home's history and charm have always been a significant part of its appeal for her.
Designed by architect Glenn Charles McAlister of Billings, Montana, Mount View is a beautiful example of prairie-style architecture with Italian Renaissance details and Tuscan stone pillars supporting the entry porch roof. The home features three floors above a three-quarter basement and a carriage house and chicken coop, all completed in 1912.
The home's living room features radiated heat, just like most rooms in the house. The second-floor entry area has room for a desk with doors to bedrooms accessible off of it. The bedroom built for Catherine Ruth Ivey features original wallpaper and its own bathroom. The master bedroom where the original owner Lyman Brooks slept has been converted into a modern bathroom off the master bedroom in a room that once was Lyman Brooks' dressing room.
The rancher-businessman and politician at least tested city living before building his own home. An article in the Nov. 5, 1891, Sheridan Post reported that he and his family “have moved to town and occupy the H. N. Robinson residence.” Brooks was 55 when he commissioned the $20,000 house ($650,000 in 2024 dollars) at the corner of South Jefferson Street and College Avenue for construction. McAlister had already designed the Sheridan County Courthouse and in 1908 worked to design the historic Kendrick Mansion called Trails End which wouldn’t be completed until 1913.
Visitors to the home will find a spacious front entry room. To the right is a den with oak pocket doors. To the left, a living room with a large fireplace. That room, too, has oak pocket doors to separate it from the reception area. All the floors are hardwood. Next to the living room to the south is a sunroom with windows, brick walls, and French doors. Upstairs are two master bedrooms — one for Lyman and one for his wife — both have bathrooms. Brayton converted Lyman’s dressing room into a large modern bathroom. There are also separate bedrooms once used by their daughter, Ruth and son, Lyman Brooks, Jr. Additionally, a sleeping room was added above the front porch of the house on the second floor and allows breezes from the several windows to flow through.
The house boasts original wallpaper in bedrooms and an antique bed curtain in Lyman Brooks’ bedroom. Brayton's two favorite rooms are the sunroom, in the winter it’s a haven for warmth and beauty and reflection on the snow and green pine trees outside, and the sleeping porch. On the third floor is a ballroom, where the Brooks family entertained with dances and community gatherings. A door off the north side of the room leads to the “fainting room” where the women could go in and loosen their corsets after all the exercise.
Original 100-year-old hedges provide privacy for the 112-year-old Sheridan mansion at the corner of College Avenue and South Jefferson Street. The large ballroom tops the three-story structure. Owner Susan Brayton has had the ceiling painted with murals honoring Leonardo da Vinci art. The kitchen of the Mount View home has been updated, but still retains the original cabinets and cupboards. French doors lead from the living room into the sunroom. The elevated breakfast nook off the kitchen is a modern addition to the home.
As her own embellishment, Brayton commissioned her son’s girlfriend who is an artist to paint the four-quartered ceiling of the ballroom. She patterned it after Leonardo da Vinci artwork, separating the four sides into the four seasons. Any secrets to the house? “I am still looking for that pot of gold somewhere in the wall,” Brayton said. “In the pantry there is a secret drawer where they kept their silver. You can’t see that drawer until you remove the other drawer.”
The house also had laundry chutes, a cabinet for ice in the kitchen, and a special button to buzz the butler and maid that was kept underneath the dining room table. The maid had a bedroom on the second floor. The butler had a room in the basement and part of his job was to feed the coal-fired furnace. That furnace was converted to natural gas. But the basement still offers a coal bin room for storage.
As part of her updates, Brayton redid the basement floor to make it more user-friendly. Brayton said she loves to entertain at the home, just like the original owners. The Casper Daily Tribune reported on Aug. 7, 1922, that “Mr. And Mrs. Lyman H. Brooks at their lovely home on Residence Hill, entertained a small company at luncheon yesterday noon in honor of Congressman nd Mrs. Frank W. Mondell. Informality was the keynote and appreciated by the guests who included besides the honor guests Judge and Mrs. Charles E. Winter of Casper and Mr. And Mrs. C. Watt Brandon.”
Brayton has used the home over the years for a special Memorial Day flag raising ceremony. Brooks had a wooden flagpole that eventually rotted. So, Brayton took a welding class and made her own that still stands on the north side of the home.
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