[Illustration: {uncaptioned}]
Like the Butler mansion, the Kennard house at 1627 H was built in the
late 60’s. Exteriorly it has been little changed and indicates fairly
well the style of the more pretentious houses of that period.
Thomas Kennard was a colorful figure of the times. On the streets of the
raw prairie city he sported a frock coat, black velvet vest and a silk
hat, which was perhaps legitimate dress for a man of his importance. He
had helped select Lincoln as the capital of Nebraska. Later he was
railroad attorney, state senator and an appraiser of Indian lands for
the federal government. In 1890 he organized the Western Glass & Paint
company, still in existence. In 1898 he was appointed by President
McKinley receiver of public moneys at the U. S. land office in Lincoln.
Choosing a site for the capitol was not as simple as it sounds 75 years
later. Omaha clung to the honor with grim fingers. Ashland was bitter at
not being chosen. The $50,000 bonds of the commissioners had been filed
with the chief justice, but not with the state treasurer, as the law
specified. Disgruntled Omaha people said the commissioners therefore had
no legal standing and they planned to prevent the removal of the state
papers, and in fact the capital, to Lincoln by having an injunction
issued. Gov. Butler and Mr. Kennard formulated a plan. On Sunday morning
Mr. Kennard drove to Omaha, entered the state house, took the seal of
state, wrapped it up carefully and put it under the seat of his buggy.
He arrived in Lincoln next morning after stopping in Ashland overnight.
The governor’s proclamation, ready and waiting, that morning announced
that the capital was now removed.
Mr. Kennard lived to celebrate his 90th birthday. He was by that time a
gentle old man in quiet dress, yet about him still hovered, one felt,
the aura of the empire builder.