Homes of Governors

What happens to the homes of heads of states when governors move on from their governor's mansions?

More than one ex-governor's house (including one featured in the following slides) has enjoyed a second career as a wedding and events venue. A handful of them have been converted to bed and breakfast guest houses (including one featured in the following slides). And a whole lot of them simply continue to serve as residences for future, less gubernatorial families.

Among the aforementioned governor's homes for sale, provided by Trulia.com and LuxuryRealEstate.com, discover one governor's summer getaway by the beach, and another mansion that that was built as a WPA project and housed some 17 governors. Click ahead to see them all.

By Colleen Kane
Posted June 27, 2011

Year Built: 1936
Price: $1,400,000
Beds/Baths: 4/ 3.5

This renovated beach home on Clarke Road in Narragansett, Rhode Island is the former summer home of John O. Pastore when he was the governor (He later became Senator). Outdoor features include mature trees, outbuildings, a stone wall, stone fire pit, a pool, and a skating pond, and half a mile down the road, the beach.

Year Built: 1872
Price: $699,000
Beds / Baths: 6 / 5

This Queen Anne Victorian home known as "The Patches" on just over one and a half acres is nestled in West Orange's historic, gated and gas-lit Llewellyn Park. It was once the home of Governor Charles Edison, son of the even more famous New Jersey icon, Thomas Edison.

Year Built: circa 1760
Price:  $195 - $595 per night
Beds/Baths: 11 guest rooms and suites

The Governor’s House Inn  is now a bed and breakfast, but like so many buildings in Charleston, it had a full history before its current incarnation. This is the former residence of South Carolina Governor Edward Rutledge, who was also one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, lived here until his death. The house is a National Historic Landmark and is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

Year Built: 1854
Price: $499,900
Square Footage: 4,035
Beds / Baths: 5 / 2 full, 2 partial

This Nationally Registered Italianate brick mansion on West James Street near downtown Columbus is renovated but retains lots of original cabinetry and features like the fireplace, spiral staircase, and maple wood flooring as well as an original stone barn. It was built for the ninth Governor of Wisconsin, James T. Lewis.

Year Built: 1850s
Price: $3,375,000
Square Footage: 6,306
Beds/Baths: 5, 4 full 1 partial

This Greek Revival on 2.75 acres at 110 Summer Street in Hingham, Massachusetts, with seven fireplaces and a new gourmet kitchen includes a three-car barn and boat house. It is the former home of the celebrated Civil-War era Governor John Albion Andrew, and the original part of the home has been renovated in keeping with the period of its most famous resident.

Year Built: 1797
Price: $795,000
Square Footage: 6135
Beds/Baths: 5/6

This brick Georgian home situated on 83 acres at 267 Route 117 Jericho, Vermont (http://www.luxuryrealestate.com/residential/756913-governor-chittenden-homestead-267-route-117-jericho-vermont-united-states) was built for Martin Chittenden, the eighth governor of Vermont. The governor legacy doesn't stop there, though; Martin was the son of the first governor of Vermont, Thomas Chittenden.      

Year Built: 1927
Price: $798,000
Square Footage: 3,717
Beds / Baths: 4 / 4

This Tudor-style home at 1801 North Spruce Street in Little Rock, features hardwood floors throughout, a sunroom, a flagstone patio, and a large game room with a wet bar. It was Governor Harvey Parnell's home while he held office between 1928 and 1933.

Year Built: 1936
Price: $2,500,000
Square Footage: 4,688
Beds / Baths: 6 / 4

This brick Georgian with two screened porches and a spacious modern kitchen is situated at 1015 Farwell Court, Madison, Wisconsin on a cul de sac with 220 feet of Lake Mendota frontage. It's the former home of Wisconsin Governor (and 1980 vice presidential candidate) Patrick Lucey.

Year Built: 1982
Price: $23,500,000
Beds / Baths: 7 / 7

Former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger’s former contemporary Mediterranean home on about 2.5 acres at 14209 Evans Road, Pacific Palisades was purchased in 1986 – the year Arnold married his soon-to-be former wife Maria Shriver. It sold in 2003 for $18 million, and it's been assumed by some that this is the home the couple lived in when Arnold was philandering with the housekeeper who fathered his illegitimate son.

Year Built: 1936
Price: off market
Square Footage: 7,194
Beds/Baths: 6 / 4.5

This restored mansion, now situated on nearly 15 acres with a pond, is South Dakota's Old Governor's Mansion and was originally built as a WPA project. Before being moved to its current Rapid City location, where it served as an event center, it was the home to 17 South Dakota governors.