Arkansas Governor's Mansion
The Arkansas Governor's Mansion, located at 18th & Center in Little Rock, is where the family of the state governor resides during the administrator’s time in office. According to the official website, “Eleven of Arkansas’s 45 Governors have lived in the Mansion with their families and pets” following the building’s completion in 1950. Before this time there was no established home for the state Governor.
Free tours of the building and the surrounding eight and a half acres are given every Tuesday morning and Thursday afternoon. The public can view the foyer, the library, the formal living room, two atriums, and the dining room in person as well as online. Only tourists that visit the actual home can revel in the splendor of the Mansions’ many gardens. The estate’s six separate gardens, which grow everything from fruit to roses, are cared for by the Arkansas Master Gardeners. The Mansion cooks harvest herbs, vegetables, and other greenery for use in cooking as well as decoration. The vegetable garden, with its children’s playhouse—actually a replica of the Mansion itself—is especially popular with visitors. The entrance garden houses a bronze bust fashioned after Bill Clinton. The effigy honors the former President and Governor’s Mansion resident who lived here for 12 years.
Last but not least, visitors may meet the First Dog. Currently a German Shepard named Mosel holds the position of “official greeter” at the Mansion. Mosel belongs to the current Governor, Mike Beebe, and his wife Ginger. Previous occupants include Francis Cherry, Orval Faubus, Winthrop Rockefeller, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor, Frank White, Jim Guy Tucker, and Mike Huckabee.
