Before neighbors could show off their wealth by purchasing the latest sports car, wealthy people in America flaunted their money by building opulent mansions. Erecting mansions today, thanks to advancements in building technology, is easier than ever, but in the early days of America it was a luxury very few could afford. Many of these homes cost millions of dollars to build at a time when spending that much money on a home was practically unheard of.

24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of the largest or most notable historic mansions in each state by reviewing information from historical societies, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places, and museums.

Though the people who commissioned the houses have long been dead, many of their names and legacies live on. The famously wealthy Vanderbilt family built two of the homes on the list: the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina and The Breakers in Rhode Island, located in Newport, one of the oldest towns in America. Matilda Dodge Wilson was left with a fortune when her husband John Dodge, co-founder of the Dodge motor company, died. She used some of the money to build Meadow Brook Hall, an 88,000-square-foot mansion in Rochester, Michigan.

Many of these mansions are quite old. In Alaska and Hawaii, the mansions listed were built before those states joined the Union. Here is how every state in the country was founded.

Click here to see the grandest historic mansion in each state
Click here to see our methodology

1. Alabama: Shorter Mansion
> City: Eufaula
> Built In: 1906
> Commissioned by: Eli Sims Shorter II
> Size: 8,700 sq. feet

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2. Alaska: Russian Bishop’s House
> City: Sitka
> Built In: 1843
> Commissioned by: Bishop Innocent
> Size: 21,530 sq. feet

3. Arizona: McCune Mansion
> City: Paradise Valley
> Built In: 1963
> Commissioned by: Walker McCune
> Size: 52,000 sq. feet

4. Arkansas: The Clayton House
> City: Fort Smith
> Built In: 1852
> Commissioned by: William Henry Harrison Clayton
> Size: Over 6,000 sq. feet

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5. California: Hearst Castle
> City: San Simeon
> Built In: 1947
> Commissioned by: William Randolph Hearst
> Size: 68,500 sq. feet

6. Colorado: Byers-Evans House Museum
> City: Denver
> Built In: 1883
> Commissioned by: Byers-Evans families
> Size: 10,000 sq. feet

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7. Connecticut: Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum
> City: Norwalk
> Built In: c. 1864
> Commissioned by: LeGrand Lockwood
> Size: 44,000 sq. feet

8. Delaware: Winterthur
> City: Winterthur
> Built In: 1932
> Commissioned by: Henry Francis du Pont
> Size: 96,582 sq. feet

9. Florida: Mar-A-Lago
> City: Palm Beach
> Built In: 1927
> Commissioned by: Marjorie Merriweather Post
> Size: 62,500 sq. feet

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10. Georgia: Hay House
> City: Macon
> Built In: 1859
> Commissioned by: William Butler Johnston
> Size: 18,000 sq. feet

11. Hawaii: Iolani Palace
> City: Honolulu
> Built In: 1882
> Commissioned by: King Kalakaua
> Size: 7,000 sq. feet

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12. Idaho: Clark House
> City: Hayden Lake
> Built In: 1910
> Commissioned by: F. Lewis Clark
> Size: 15,000 sq. feet

13. Illinois: Illinois Executive Mansion
> City: Springfield
> Built In: 1855
> Commissioned by: Gov. Joel Matteson
> Size: 45,120 sq. feet

14. Indiana: Culbertson Mansion
> City: New Albany
> Built In: 1867
> Commissioned by: William Culbertson
> Size: more than 20,000 sq. feet

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15. Iowa: Brucemore
> City: Cedar Rapids
> Built In: 1886
> Commissioned by: Caroline Soutter Sinclair
> Size: 15,000 sq. feet

16. Kansas: Seelye Mansion
> City: Abilene
> Built In: 1905
> Commissioned by: Dr. A.B. Seelye
> Size: 11,000 sq. feet

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17. Kentucky: The Governor’s Mansion
> City: Frankfort
> Built In: 1914
> Commissioned by: James B. McCreary
> Size: 18,428 sq. feet

18. Louisiana: Nottoway Plantation and Resort
> City: White Castle
> Built In: 1859
> Commissioned by: John Hampden Randolph
> Size: 53,000 sq. feet

19. Maine: East of Eden
> City: Bar Harbor
> Built In: 1909
> Commissioned by: Walter G. Ladd
> Size: 15,000 sq. feet

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20. Maryland: Government House
> City: Annapolis
> Built In: 1870
> Commissioned by: Gov. Oden Bowie
> Size: 38,000 sq. feet

21. Massachusetts: Castle Hill
> City: Ipswich
> Built In: 1928
> Commissioned by: Richard T. Crane Jr.
> Size: 56,881 sq. feet

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22. Michigan: Meadow Brook Hall
> City: Rochester
> Built In: 1929
> Commissioned by: Matilda Dodge Wilson
> Size: 88,000 sq. feet

23. Minnesota: James J. Hill House
> City: St. Paul
> Built In: 1891
> Commissioned by: James J. Hill
> Size: 36,500 sq. feet

24. Mississippi: Mississippi Governor’s Mansion
> City: Jackson
> Built In: 1842
> Commissioned by: Gov. Tilghman Tucker
> Size: 11,448 sq. feet

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25. Missouri: Vaile Mansion
> City: Independence
> Built In: 1881
> Commissioned by: Harvey Vaile
> Size: N/A

26. Montana: Daly Mansion
> City: Hamilton
> Built In: 1886
> Commissioned by: Marcus Daly
> Size: 24,000 sq. feet

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27. Nebraska: Joslyn Castle
> City: Omaha
> Built In: 1903
> Commissioned by: George Joslyn
> Size: 19,360 sq. feet

28. Nevada: Thunderbird Lodge
> City: Incline Village
> Built In: c. 1936
> Commissioned by: George Whittell Jr.
> Size: 16,000 sq. feet

29. New Hampshire: Searles Castle
> City: Windham
> Built In: 1915
> Commissioned by: Edward Searles
> Size: 30,000-35,000 sq. feet

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30. New Jersey: Shadow Lawn / Woodrow Wilson Hall
> City: West Long Branch
> Built In: 1929
> Commissioned by: Hubert Templeton Parson
> Size: 90,000 sq. feet

31. New Mexico: Villa Philmonte
> City: Cimarron
> Built In: 1927
> Commissioned by: Waite Phillips
> Size: 28,400 sq. feet

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32. New York: Oheka Castle
> City: Huntington
> Built In: 1919
> Commissioned by: Otto Kahn
> Size: 109,000 sq. feet

33. North Carolina: Biltmore Estate
> City: Asheville
> Built In: 1895
> Commissioned by: George Vanderbilt
> Size: 135,280 sq. feet

34. North Dakota: Chateau de Mores
> City: Medora
> Built In: 1883
> Commissioned by: Marquis de Mores
> Size: 8,600 sq. feet

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35. Ohio: Stan Hywet Hall
> City: Akron
> Built In: 1915
> Commissioned by: F.A. Seiberling
> Size: 64,500 sq. feet

36. Oklahoma: Marland Mansion
> City: Ponca City
> Built In: 1928
> Commissioned by: E.W. Marland
> Size: 43,561 sq. feet

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37. Oregon: Pittock Mansion
> City: Portland
> Built In: 1914
> Commissioned by: Henry Pittock
> Size: 16,000 sq. feet

38. Pennsylvania: Lynnewood Hall
> City: Elkins Park
> Built In: 1900
> Commissioned by: P.A.B. Widener
> Size: 70,000 sq. feet

39. Rhode Island: The Breakers
> City: Newport
> Built In: 1895
> Commissioned by: Cornelius Vanderbilt II
> Size: 62,482 sq. feet

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40. South Carolina: The Lace House
> City: Columbia
> Built In: 1855
> Commissioned by: Thomas Robertson
> Size: 16,500 sq. feet

41. South Dakota: Mellette House
> City: Watertown
> Built In: 1885
> Commissioned by: Calvin Mellette
> Size N/A

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42. Tennessee: Belmont Mansion
> City: Nashville
> Built In: 1853
> Commissioned by: Adelicia Acklen
> Size: 19,000 sq. feet

43. Texas: Crespi-Hicks Estate
> City: Dallas
> Built In: 1938
> Commissioned by: Pio Crespi
> Size: 28,996 sq. feet

44. Utah: McCune Mansion
> City: Salt Lake City
> Built In: 1901
> Commissioned by: Alfred W. McCune
> Size: 22,000 sq. feet

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45. Vermont: Wilson Castle
> City: Proctor
> Built In: c. 1885
> Commissioned by: John Johnson
> Size: N/A

46. Virginia: North Wales
> City: near Warrenton
> Built In: 1781
> Commissioned by: William Allison
> Size: 38,500 sq. feet

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47. Washington: Thornewood Castle
> City: Lakewood
> Built In: 1908
> Commissioned by: Chester A. Thorne
> Size: 27,000 sq. feet

48. West Virginia: Governor’s Mansion
> City: Charleston
> Built In: 1925
> Commissioned by: William MacCorkle
> Size: 21,000 sq. feet

49. Wisconsin: Taliesin
> City: near Spring Green
> Built In: 1911
> Commissioned by: Frank Lloyd Wright
> Size: 37,000 sq. feet

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50. Wyoming: Trail End
> City: Sheridan
> Built In: 1913
> Commissioned by: John B. Kendrick
> Size: 13,748 sq. feet

Methodology

In order to determine the largest historic homes in each state, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed media sources, local and state historical societies, tourism boards, and the National Register of Historic Places. Only homes built before 1966 were considered. The buildings had to serve as single-family homes at some point in their history.

Most of these buildings no longer serve as homes, and many have been converted into museums. To be considered, the homes must have publicly available information about their size, or they provided that information to 24/7 Wall St. Houses were ranked on square footage, unless that information was unavailable, in which case the homes were ranked based on the number of rooms they have.

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