Visitors enter the Governor’s Mansion from an expansive front porch. The Mansion was designed to take advantage of breezes on hot summer days. The front and back doors, and all of the rooms on the first floor open to an Entry Hall.

The Entry Hall has changed very little since 1856. The focal point of the room is the sweeping stairway which retains the original bannister. Today, it has filled holes. The holes were created when Governor Hogg drove tacks into the bannister to prevent his children from sliding down the rail. Originally, the garden and stables were visible from the window on the stair landing.