The first official residence for Alabama's governor was acquired in 1911. Prior to that time, governors of the state lived in private homes or local
hotels during their terms of office. The first residence was built by Moses Sabel in 1906. The house, a
Beaux Arts brownstone, was located on the southwest corner of South Perry and South Streets in Montgomery. It was purchased for use as an
executive mansion by a special state commission, formed by an act of the
Alabama Legislature. This commission was authorized to contract for the construction, purchase, or improvement of a residence and the acquisition of grounds. The former Sabel home cost the state $46,500. Governor
Emmet O'Neal was the first to occupy the
mansion and
Jim Folsom was the last. The state relocated the official residence from this house to the former Robert Ligon, Jr. house in 1950. The old residence was then used as state offices for the
Adjutant General and the Military Department until May 1959, when the property was sold to
Montgomery Academy, a private secondary school. It was subsequently condemned and demolished in 1963 as part of the construction of
Interstate 85. ==Current residence==