Wisconsin history begins at the Wisconsin Executive Residence. Governor Scott Walker is the 14th Governor to reside here (and 45th Governor of Wisconsin). He and his wife, Tonette, have two sons, Matthew and Alex.
Local architect Frank Riley, born in 1875 and raised in Madison, designed the home in a Classical Revival style for Madison industrialist, Carl A. Johnson. Construction on the mansion began in 1921, but after the death of Mr. Johnson’s wife he boarded up the unfinished home. 
A few years later, after Mr. Johnson re-married, construction resumed and was finally completed in 1928. Mr. Johnson’s two brothers also owned homes in the neighborhood, one built by Mr. Riley two doors down. In 1933 Thomas R. Hefty, a Madison banker, purchased the residence. In 1949 the State of Wisconsin bought the home from Mr. Hefty for $47,500. (At that time, it was assessed at $200,000.)
Our Gardens
The 8 Gardens are a beautiful sight to see. 
They include the vegetable garden, the perennial garden, the native Wisconsin garden, the formal garden, the round raised bed, the rock garden and fish pond, the daylily garden, the hosta garden and the herb garden.
Our Antiques
The secretary desk 
is made of mahogany wood and is 200 years old. The wavy glass dates this piece back to the 18th century.
The home consists of 34 rooms, including 7 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, 7 fireplaces and features 10 major gardens. There are 16,000 square feet of living space (about 8,000 square feet per floor), not including the lower level. The home is extremely well built—the exterior walls are all 12 to 18 inches thick and are a sandstone block with a stucco finish. The Executive Residence continues to be cared for by a Director, Executive Chef, part-time Head of Waitstaff and Housekeeper as well as facilities maintenance specialists.
The Executive Residence, set on 3.7 acres of land overlooking Lake Mendota, was once a summertime campground site for the Ho-Chunk tribe. The first permanent settler in the Maple Bluff area was James Douglas McBride in 1803. By 1873, there were more than a dozen individuals with houses in the Maple Bluff region. In 1856, Madison’s population was approximately 7,000 residents. The Maple Bluff Golf Club, established in 1899, was the first golf course in Madison. By 1860, there were nearly 800,000 residents in all of Wisconsin. In 1931, the area was officially incorporated as the Village of Maple Bluff.