either state ownership or free use. At the same time, he advocated for state-run social institutions, advocating for appropriations from the state legislature for penal facilities, a home for the mentally ill, a general hospital, a school for the disabled, and a home for soldiers and sailors. He supported railroad construction, and served as a leader in a railway company that attempted to connect the Union Pacific Railroad with mining areas in Wyoming. He ran for a second term in 1902, defeating George T. Beck by the largest margin seen since the Territory joined the Union in 1890. Death He died from kidney disease at his home in Cheyenne on April 28, 1903, four months into his second term. Richards was a member of the Holy Royal Arch. His body is interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne. References External links National Governors Association Wyoming Historical Society State biography– Wyoming State Archives Gubernatorial Vote in Wyoming– Wyoming Secretary of State The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Richards at politicalgraveyard.com, – Political Graveyard "Richards Family Papers Available for Research"– Heritage Highlights, newsletter American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming Sandoz, Mari, The Cattlemen from the Rio Grande Across the Far Marias (1978), Turnbull and Denslow, History of Royal Arch Masonry Part Three (2004), 1846 births 1903 deaths Republican Party governors of Wyoming Republican Party Wyoming state senators Mayors of places in Wyoming People from Charlestown, New Hampshire People from Chadron, Nebraska People from Douglas, Wyoming People from Wilcox County, Alabama 19th-century American politicians