Virginia can proudly claim a number of records in United States history — having the first permanent English settlement, the birthplace of eight U.S. Presidents, and the oldest Executive Mansion still occupied by a state governor.
This year marks the bicentennial of Virginia’s Executive Mansion and the beautiful book First House, Two Centuries with Virginia’s First Families tells the interesting history of the mansion. Written by Mary Miley Theobald, the book is published by the Citizen’s Advisory Council for Interpreting and Furnishing the Executive Mansion and the Library of Virginia. It shows how the mansion combines being a historic site and a place for business and receptions, with being a home for the governors and their families.
The story of Virginia’s Executive Mansion actually begins in Williamsburg. During the Revolutionary War, both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson lived in the former Royal Governor’s Palace. When the British landed in Portsmouth, the legislators decided that Richmond would be a safer location for the Capitol of Virginia. So in May 1780, Jefferson packed up what was left of the Palace’s furnishings and moved to Richmond.
For 32 years Virginia’s governors made due with a neglected house purchased by the state near the new Capitol Building. Finally in 1811 the monies were acquired to build a new house for the governor. The house was completed two years later. Governor James Barbour of Orange County, his wife Lucy, and their three children were the first family to live in the Executive Mansion.
Author Mary Theobald chronicles the house’s story as each governor moves in and adapts and decorates the house to their own needs. The well-used house has endured two fires — the first one during the burning of Richmond in the Civil War and the second one in 1922 when the retiring governor’s 5-year-old son’s sparkler set a Christmas Tree on fire — and several renovations and an addition. The last major renovation of the house was under Governor James Gilmore III (1998-2002). The renovation returned the historic portion of the house to its 1830s appearance while improving mechanical and technology systems and strengthening the structure.
In addition to the chronological narrative, Theobald has chapters on the gardens, distinguished visitors, the First Families and their pets, Christmas, and the staff who work behind the scenes to make the mansion run smoothly.
The book is beautifully designed and has wonderful photos, prints, and engravings. There are also little sidebars of trivia and information that are fun to read, like the story of the painting given to the mansion by Nancy Langhorne Astor, the first female member of the House of Commons, as well as the stories of the mansion’s ghosts.
One of Virginia’s recent First Ladies called the Executive Mansion “a happy house” and that happiness certainly comes across in this book. It doesn’t matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, any Virginian will find this book fascinating because the story of the Executive Mansion is also the story of Virginia.
Check the WRL catalog for First House, Two Centuries with Virginia’s First Families