In January, the United States’ 19 newly elected governors won’t just have inauguration day on their calendars, but moving day, too. All but five states have governor’s mansions for their leaders to live and work from, with the exceptions being Arizona, Idaho, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. These executive residences tend to be grand in style and scale, often possessing a long, rich history—even some haunted ones.
Sometimes, governors forego their official residences in favor of privately owned homes. For example, California governor Gavin Newsom recently listed the $7.5 million Fair Oaks home he lived in instead of the official executive residence, a 19th-century Victorian in Sacramento. Montana’s governor’s mansion is currently empty and in disrepair, while a governor hasn’t inhabited the official residence in Nebraska in over a decade.
Most states, however, have longstanding traditions of their leaders living in their official governor’s mansions. Virginia has the oldest continuously inhabited executive residence—every governor has lived there since 1813. If our new league of governors opts for tradition, here’s where they will be resting their heads for the next few years.
Alabama: Tommy Tuberville
Photo: Ron and Patty Thomas/Getty Images
