“You have friends in high places,” Martin Townes Jr.’s classmates joked. In 2000, his high school football team had just won the state championship, and the victory tour led them to Virginia’s Executive Mansion in Richmond to meet the governor. When the team arrived, it was Townes’ father, Martin “Tutti” Townes, who opened the mansion door and welcomed them inside.
It’s a Family Business
Martin now acts as deputy butler for Virginia’s First Family, but the Townes legacy in the capital stretches back generations.
Alongside his sister Cherry, Martin followed in Tutti’s footsteps—who himself has spent more than 40 years working at the mansion. Tutti’s mother, Doris Townes-Fleming, was also the mansion cook for many years.
Martin’s earliest memories from the mansion are mostly of being downstairs in the kitchen with Doris. “Everybody enjoyed my grandmother’s cooking down there,” he recalls. Even when the kitchen was run-down, he says, “somehow they still made gourmet meals. I’m proud of that.” By Martin’s count, at least 10 members of the Townes family have worked at the mansion.
After high school, Martin joined the Virginia Army National Guard, then earned a degree in anthropology at Virginia Commonwealth University, studying abroad in Guatemala and South Africa—his own Indiana Jones chapter. He tried out a slew of various jobs, even securing a paralegal certificate, before Tutti called with news of a butler opening at the mansion in 2019. From there, everything fell into place.
For a history buff, working at the nation’s oldest continuously occupied governor’s mansion is pure serendipity. “Sometimes I pinch myself,” Martin says. “It’s an astronomical coincidence that I ended up working here.”
A Day in the Mansion
Martin was nervous as he carried a commissioned painting of the lieutenant governor across Richmond to get it framed. The painting, made by a local artist, hangs over the Ladies’ Parlor, and it’s a reminder of the Townes touch across the executive grounds—like Tutti’s initials carved into a tree 40 years ago.
But the most striking testimonial to the family is the Townes House, a historic home on Governor Street in Capitol Square dedicated to their legacy—one that Martin is helping shape. Today, he’s not only the deputy butler but also the mansion’s historian, a member of the Board of Historic Resources of Virginia, and the first statewide ambassador for VA250, a multi-year celebration of the Commonwealth’s revolutionary past. Since the role is brand new, Martin gets to decide what it looks like. “It’s like when George Washington became the first president,” he jokes.
The Townes take care of practically everything at the mansion, from setting up for events to helping the First Family with daily tasks, like serving meals, grocery shopping, dry cleaning, delivering paperwork to the governor’s office, coordinating events, and more—Cherry’s favorite is caring for the First Family’s dogs. “I once dreamed of being
an actor, and in some ways this job feels like being on stage—like living in Downton Abbey,” Martin says.
Martin recounts the Executive Mansion’s long, dazzling guest list: Queen Elizabeth II, Winston Churchill, Arthur Ashe, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Martin doesn’t get starstruck—it’s just another day at work. Brad Pitt could walk in, and Martin says he would just ask, “How do you like your coffee, sir?”
In the Old Governor’s Office, under the seashell fossil (Chesapecten jeffersonius; middle), is a replica of Jefferson’s rough draft of The Declaration of Independence. Underneath the trilobite fossil (right) is the replica of The Virginia Declaration of Rights.
A Gubernatorial Christmas
In 1925, then-Gov. Elbert Trinkle’s son got a sparkler for Christmas … and accidentally ignited the Christmas tree, burning up the Executive Mansion’s ballroom.
Thankfully, Christmas in the 21st century is less dramatic, but just as sparkly. Floor-to-ceiling trees are scattered across the two-floor mansion, typically sourced from local growers. The governor’s spouse handles the intricate decorations, at times bringing in an interior designer or even a local garden club. “Christmas is big business here,” Martin says. “The mansion is completely redecorated with pine draped around doors, handrails, and stairs.”
From Thanksgiving through mid-December, the mansion hosts weekly receptions and invites the public to see the decorations—typically around the time the Capitol does the tree lighting—welcoming them with hot cider and warm cookies. Martin names the oohs and aahs as his favorite holiday tradition at the mansion: “I love seeing the smiles and joy.”
The Doorway Singers, a Hampton Roads-based a cappella group that specializes in Dickens-style caroling, performed at last year’s Citizens Advisory Council holiday event at Virginia’s Executive Mansion.
Courtesy of the Executive Mansion of Virginia
This article originally appeared in the December 2025 issue.
