About this room …

When the House was built in 1891, the Northwest Territories was a vast region of 2.5 million square miles. That region was governed from this office by the Lieutenant Governor.

Duties of the office changed many times between 1891 and 1905 as the Territories endured the growing pains of a young country.

With the new province of Saskatchewan in 1905, this was the main office of the Lieutenant Governors of Saskatchewan through to 1945.

The coal scuttle and fireplace are original to the room.

The Telephone and 1906 Telephone Directory

Take a look at the telephone in the corner of the room. It is a reproduction of the one that existed in 1894. At the time, it could only call three places: the kitchen, the carriage-house, and the Northwest Territorial Administrations Building (located down the street at 3304 Dewdney Avenue). Despite the limitations, it was still a luxurious item to have in the house.

Now look at the photocopy of the 1906 Telephone Directory (found on the document drawers). It is the same directory as the one found below the telephone. Notice how thin it is compared to modern-day phone books. In 1906, the telephone was still a somewhat new technology, patented in 1876. Even in 1906 only a handful of Regina residents could afford a telephone. Telephone numbers were also shorter - only two or three digits long!

If you flip through the photocopy, you will see it contains a page that lists the dos and don'ts of using a telephone. This was because most people didn't know a lot about using them.

Government House was one of the first houses in Regina to have a telephone, electricity, running water, flushing toilets and a central heating system. That made it one of the most advanced homes of the time.