by The First White House of the Confederacy sits directly across the state capital building in Montgomery, Alabama.
It served as the executive residence for traitor President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis and his family during early 1861. In May of that year the Confederacy moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia (we toured the Second White House of the Confederacy there in 2023).
The home was relocated to this spot in 1919, and it’s hard to feel in 2024 that the location across from the capital is appropriate. Also not appropriate was the docent telling a fellow guest that the Civil War was not about slavery, but about the economics of having to pay for labor. Ummmm…not sure if you can hear yourself repeating? Sigh.
The Italianate-style house was built circa 1832, and is furnished with pieces from the 1850s and 1860s, including some items that belonged to the Davis’. It was mostly presented as a show-piece, richly decorated but without much information. The tour is self-guided; you get to peer into each room and read a short accompanying sign.
Apparently, Alabama taxpayers subsidize the site to the tune of $100,000 a year. In 2017, criticism arose over the Lost Cause mythology presented. It’s not clear if there have been changes since then, but other than the docent’s [ridiculous] remarks, we saw very little to get our hackles up. Well, maybe the framed “Jefferson Davis, American Patriot” article.
