Bingham County Museum, 1905 John Brown Mansion

Blackfoot, Bingham County

• Grants: 2016 (repaint), 2017 (repointing masonry), 2018 (masonry restoration), 2022 (roof repair)

Location: 190 N Shilling, Blackfoot, ID 83221

The Bingham County Museum is housed in a historic mansion located in the notable Shilling Avenue Historic District of Blackfoot.  John Gurthie Brown and May Johnston Brown built the mansion in 1905, designed by James Flood Walker. John met James during the 1904 St Louis Fair where Walker presented the “Idaho Building”. The mansion is a 15-room, southern style home constructed of local lava rock.  The home includes a large second floor balcony, a glass-walled sunroom, and a large vaulted front room space.  The Browns with their chauffeur, servants, and cook turned this grand home into the social center of Blackfoot until 1924. 

John Brown passed away in 1924 and subsequently May moved back to Tennessee to be with family. The home functioned as the Stewart Hoover Post 23 American Legion Hall until the Legion built a newer facility and the mansion was turned into a museum. The mansion has functioned as Museum since the 1970s.

For more information please contact the Bingham County Historical Society at bchs@binghamcountyhistoricalsociety.org or reach the Museum at (208) 785-8065