Introduction to the Official Reception Center: Leland Stanford Mansion State Historic Park was once the mansion of the first governor of California. It is now an official reception center for government activities and a museum open to the public. Amasa Leland Stanford (March 9, 1824 - June 21, 1893) was one of the top ten plutocrats and railroad king of the Gilded Age in the United States. He was famous for operating ports, gold mines, and railroads. , today's world-renowned Stanford University was also founded by him. In 1861, Leland Stanford served as the first governor of California and led California to join the Northern League led by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War. In 1863, he and his wife Jenny established the Central Pacific Railroad Company and served as president, building the first railroad. Railroads across America.