John Gowey was an important citizen of Olympia, who served in many local and territorial capacities and eventually rose to the level of consul of Japan, where he died. His wife was one of the original “Mercer girls” who were brought to Washington Territory to meet the matrimonial needs of the men of the territory. The Goweys’ mansion served as the residence of two Washington governors, Ferry and Rogers. The elegant home was located just north of where the Department of Enterprise Services building is now, on Columbia Street. Photograph selected and captioned by Deborah Ross on behalf of the Olympia Historical Society and Bigelow House Museum. For more information, see olympiahistory.org. 1891 Souvenir Edition, Olympia Tribune, Washington State Library