One Cowboy's Dream

Despite his wife's active involvement in its design and construction, Trail End was apparently John Kendrick's idea from start to finish. Mary Kendrick Morgan, a relative from Texas who lived on the family ranches during the planning phase of the project, told Manville that Eula was not necessarily eager to take on the responsibility of such a large home:

I helped your mother a little on the plans when I was with you folks and she said then the house was going to be a big responsibility. I think that your Dear Father wanted the big house much more than she did. I heard your grandmother [Ida Peeler Wulfjen] tell your mother not to oppose him about the house, that he had worked hard and building that house had been a dream of his for a long time. 

John's dream, located on 3.8 acres of land on the west side of town, is an imposing structure with thirty rooms encompassing just under 14,000 square feet. There are three floors plus a basement, attic, four balconies and four porches. The home was built in the Flemish Revival style, recognizable by the presence of curvilinear gables (this style is most often seen in the border areas between France and Belgium). Mixed in with the Flemish elements are several from the Neoclassical style including columns, pediments and balustrades.

The front of the house is symmetrical with a formal entrance reminiscent of large estates in Great Britain, New York and Virginia. The sides and back have the more random arrangement of porches, balconies, windows and chimneys typical of late Nineteenth Century Victorian houses.

Local contractor N. A. Pearson was in charge of the work force – utilizing both local workers and imported craftsmen – but the Kendricks acted as their own general contractors. In addition to actual laborers, they employed designers and consultants from all over the United States to help them put together the home they envisioned. Two of the most influential of these consultants were the architect and the interior designer.

Dueling Architects

Before he began Trail End, self-taught Montana architect Glenn Charles McAlister was best known in Sheridan for the work he did designing the Sheridan County Courthouse. New York architect D. Everett Waid, a one-time president of the American Institute of Architects, worked closely in consultation with the Kendricks on the interior design of the home. He offered a variety of suggestions for their consideration – ideas usually contrary to what McAlister recommended.

In letters to the Kendricks, Waid was openly scornful of McAlister's talents and ideas, possibly because of the architect's lack of formal training. Eventually, to avoid continual spats between the two, the Kendricks left McAlister entirely out of the interior design process.

Interior Features

All of the original woodwork in Trail End was machine-tooled by the Lindner Interior Manufacturing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan. Following detailed drawings and specifications, $25,000 worth of wood components were machine carved and precut, then shipped to Sheridan via railroad boxcar and assembled on site by skilled workmen from Sheridan and Grand Rapids.

Much of the original furniture was custom-made by yet another Grand Rapids firm, the Berkey & Gay Company. Berkey & Gay was one of the premier furniture manufacturers of the time, with much of its product in evidence in the fine hotels of New York and Chicago. To satisfy the needs of their long-distance customers such as the Kendricks, Berkey & Gay devised a sales technique called the "catalog showroom" in which all their furnishings were on display in black and white photographic catalogs. Different styles could be ordered in different woods and finishes, depending upon the personal tastes of the client. 

Trail End Technology

When Trail End was designed and built, it incorporated the newest and most advanced technology available, including:

As technology advanced, so did its use at Trail End. In the 1920s, the original ice box in the butlers' pantry was replaced by an electric refrigerator. A gas range replaced the cumbersome wood and coal cook stove, and the coal-fired boilers were eventually converted to natural gas. 

Americans take most of these inventions for granted today, but to the people who lived at Trail End in 1913 these labor-saving devices were very exciting. They eliminated much of the drudgery of everyday life and made it easier for all, family and staff alike, to enjoy the comforts of home. 

Trail End Staff

It took many hands to keep things running smoothly at Trail End. Many domestics (or servants) worked there over the years, but only a few at any one time. Most maids and grounds workers, known as "day workers," would go to work in the morning and return to their own homes at night. Others, however, would choose (or be chosen) to live on site, taking part of their wages in room and board. A cook and housekeeper once lived at Trail End as did several maids and a private nurse employed by Diana Kendrick to look after her children.

Followers of today's rich and famous might be surprised to learn that Eula Kendrick and many other well-to-do married women of the time worked right along with the domestic staff on keeping their homes running smoothly. While maids, cooks, gardeners and housekeepers did the bulk of the everyday work, Eula and her daughter Rosa-Maye helped with major projects such as spring cleaning, planting flowers, moving seasonal wardrobes in and out of storage and rearranging furniture.

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Last Updated March 2008