In November 1903, Gov. George Pardee and his family move into the Governor’s Mansion at 16th and H Streets in Sacramento. Pardee, his wife Helen and their four daughters — Florence, 15; Madeline, 14; Carol, 12; and Helen, 8 — are the first First Family to live in the spacious Victorian, purchased by the state earlier in the year for $32,500.
Located a short walk from the Capitol, the 30-room home was built in 1877 for Albert and Clemenza Gallatin. The Pardees bring some of their own furnishings from their Oakland home, and buy other pieces especially for the mansion, including a piano. They also bring a menagerie, state park historians report. There’s Lady Jane, the horse. Between them, the Pardee girls have two dogs, a cat, a parrot, a lamb and a chipmunk that hides in the draperies.
The Pardees entertain with concerts, card games and Thursday afternoon gatherings with tea and cookies. They also add an office with an outside entrance so government business can be transacted without intruding on the family’s privacy. The girls enjoy roller skating on the newly-cemented floor in the basement. Pardee, the only doctor elected California governor, keeps his medical bag at the ready on an entryway table.
Twelve other first families use the mansion over the next 64 years. Ronald and Nancy Reagan and their son Ron Jr. move out of the mansion in 1967 after living there four months. Following his election in 1974, Gov. Jerry Brown refuses to move in and instead rents a small apartment nearby. Ironically, it’s Brown who, after returning to the Governor’s Office decades later, becomes the first governor to reoccupy the mansion in 48 years.
Brown’s successor Gavin Newsom moves his family into the Governor’s Mansion after assuming office but soon relocates to nearby Fair Oaks.
Today, the Governor’s Mansion is a State Historic Park open to the public. Visitors can see the mansion’s original furnishings — including the Pardee’s Steinway — and learn about the history of the home on guided tours.