The First White House of the Confederacy

08/07/2026

This month's First White House "Sister Home" is the Alabama Governor’s Mansion, the official residence of Alabama’s chief executive and family.

This gracious, 117-year-old home possesses a rich history that makes it one of Montgomery and Alabama’s most unique landmarks.

The current mansion is Alabama’s second. Our state first acquired a residence for its governors in 1911, during the term of Governor Emmett O’Neal. Before that time, governors resided in private homes or even local hotels during their tenure in office.

The first Governor’s Mansion was a Beaux Arts brownstone built in 1906 that served as the home of nine Alabama governors from 1911 to 1950. The last governor to live in this mansion was Gov. James E. “Big Jim” Folsom. The residence was eventually demolished in 1963 to make way for the interstate highway.

In 1907, Robert Ligon, Jr. purchased a lot on Perry Street in a fashionable area of Montgomery and commissioned architect Weatherly Carter to build his family a home suitable to their position in society.

The result was a graceful, neoclassical structure that upon its completion came to be known as one of Montgomery’s most elegant homes. For 43 years the Ligons occupied the mansion, building a life that included many family events and social occasions in the stately home. Robert Ligon, Jr. died in 1939, and his wife Aileen in 1950.

Gov. Folsom played an instrumental role in acquiring the current Alabama Governor’s Mansion. During his first term, Gov. Folsom became fascinated with an impressive and uniquely Southern home located a few blocks from the original Governor’s Mansion. The Governor would often take walks through the neighborhood, befriended the owner of the home, Mrs. Robert Fulwood Ligon, Jr. He often told Mrs. Ligon that her home would make a more suitable mansion for the state’s governors, with its grand staircase and majestic columns.

For more than sixty years, thirteen First Families have enjoyed the Mansion while raising their children, showing guests Alabama hospitality and hosting official functions.

It is the state's goal to ensure the Governor’s Mansion is preserved and remains historically accurate. In 2011, the Mansion Preservation Act created an authority responsible for maintaining and restoring the 117-year-old house to reflect its original heritage. It also required the Governor’s Mansion to be accessible to the public with tours.

Governor Ivey invites Alabamians to see their home and encourage visitors to experience Sweet Home Alabama by booking a tour of the Governor’s Mansion.

For more information - https://governor.alabama.gov/governor/mansion/history/

07/27/2026

Did you know? The First White House is known for its Liberty Cap motif used in the cast iron ventilations. This unique design incorporated into the First White of the Confederacy has been adopted as the special emblem of both the building and the First White House Association.

Phrygian - a conical cap or bonnet with the peek turned over in the front, now identified with the Liberty Cap in the American and French Revolutions. An Ancient Greek mode of a warlike character, derived from the ancient Phrygians (inhabitants of an ancient country of Asia Minor).

07/27/2026

A very nice note from a recent visitor to the White House -

Greetings from Puerto Rico,

My name is Dr. Luis Fernández, this past July 2, my family and I visited The First White House of the Confederacy from Puerto Rico. We would like to thank you for the hospitality and treatment while we visited and toured the House-Museum. We like to give our special thanks to Bob for receiving us and showing us the house.

Again, thank you very much for receiving us.
I include a picture of Bob and me from that wonderful day.

My best regards to everyone.

Dr. Luis Fernández

07/04/2026

06/15/2026

On May 21, 2026 newly commissioned 2nd Lt David Salgado (2nd R) USAF, was sworn in on the steps of the First White House of the Confederacy. On behalf of the White House staff and volunteers, congratulations!

06/12/2026

On May 8, 2026, the great granddaughter of Mrs. Felicity Allen, author of the 1999 best seller Jefferson Davis: Unconquerable Heart, visited the First White House. Miss. Emma Gail Earnest, Mrs. Allen great granddaughter, and her 4th grade class from Lee Scott Academy, Auburn, Alabama, toured the home and Emma Gail signed a copy of her Great Grandmother's book.

06/10/2026

Did you know? During the Mexican-American War, the 1st Mississippi Volunteers, “The Mississippi Rifles”, at Buena Vista was commanded by Col. Jefferson F. Davis.

06/08/2026

Alabama State Offices will be closed today in honor of President Jefferson Davis.

05/23/2026

Reprinted from Military.com -

Until 1971, it was known as "Decoration Day."

The years following the end of the Civil War in 1865 saw American communities tending to the remains and graves of an unprecedented number of war dead. All of the previous wars and conflicts fought by the United States combined would still not add up to the body count produced by the Civil War.

On the first official Decoration Day -- May 30, 1868 -- Ohio Rep. James A. Garfield, a former general and future U.S. president, addressed a crowd of 5,000 gathered at Arlington National Cemetery:

"Hither our children's children shall come to pay their tribute of grateful homage. For this are we met to-day. By the happy suggestion of a great society, assemblies like this are gathering at this hour in every State in the Union.

Thousands of soldiers are to-day turning aside in the march of life to visit the silent encampments of dead comrades who once fought by their side. From many thousand homes, whose light was put out when a soldier fell, there go forth to-day to join these solemn processions loving kindred and friends, from whose heart the shadow of grief will never be lifted till the light of the eternal world dawns upon them."

In 1968, the U.S. government passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act, which put major holidays on specific Mondays to give federal employees three-day weekends. Memorial Day was one of these holidays, along with Washington's Birthday, Labor Day and Columbus Day. The act also codified the name "Memorial Day" into law.

It all went into effect in 1971 and, by then, there were no more Civil War veterans -- but there were millions of vets from later wars.

The FWHC Staff and Volunteers wish everyone a safe and happy Memorial Day.

05/23/2026

Did you know? A carriage step is a block of stone placed near the edge of the street usually in line with the front doorway of a home, it served as a stepping stone to help passengers as they climbed in and out of carriages. Popular back in the horse and buggy days of the 19th century carriage steps could be seen in towns and cities all over the United States.

They are rarely seen in the present day as most carriage steps have been destroyed because they became obsolete when cars took over as primary transportation. These reminders of a seemingly distant past can be found in many parts of older cities.

While carriage steps were often found outside the homes of the town’s wealthier residents, they speak to the importance of carriages and stages and means of transportation. Ultimately the arrival of the railroad would make stagecoaches no longer economically viable and automobiles would do the same to carriages. The implements of horse-drawn travel – hitching posts and carriage steps – remain as testimony to their importance in an earlier age.

Although the FWHC no longer retains its carriage steps, visitors can still see the culture and architecture of our 19th century home when they visit.

NB. Photos of carriage steps from around the country.