By Joan Tupponce

“Ever since I was a little boy, I remember watching those movies,” said Townes, a Virginia Commonwealth University alum whose interests now intersect in a unique role: deputy butler and historian at Virginia’s Executive Mansion.

Townes came to VCU after a six-year stint in the Virginia Army National Guard, enrolling in the university in his late 20s. Anthropology was the natural choice for his major, he said, because archaeology “is a subdiscipline of anthropology.”

Christopher A. Brooks, Ph.D., professor of anthropology in the School of World Studies in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, saw Townes as a quiet but excellent student who was well-traveled. Brooks recalled an exam in his Introduction to African Studies course that required students to label five countries on a continent map with only the borders outlined.

“Martin labeled every country on the continent,” Brooks said. “I still have that map in my office.”

Townes was also an avid reader. “I have never known anyone who has such a thirst for book collecting and reading,” Brooks said.

At VCU, Townes had the opportunity to participate in two study abroad programs, which he considers the highlights of his college years. His first trip took him to Guatemala, where he visited ancient ruins and lived with two local families. His second was to South Africa, on a trip hosted by Amy Rector, Ph.D., associate dean for faculty and academic affairs, science and mathematics in the School of World Studies.

”That was a really special experience for me. I got to participate in a paleoanthropological dig in the area known as the Cradle of Humankind, working with scientists from the University of the Witwatersrand,” Townes said. “We stayed next to a game preserve. I never found any prehistoric human bones, but I did find prehistoric antelope bones, and that was cool.”

Townes and his group also volunteered at an orphanage in Cape Town for a day.

“There was an elderly woman, living in a shanty town, and she was taking in random kids at the orphanage. We helped to clean up the playground and bought them food and supplies. It made me see how blessed I was in the U.S.,” he said.  

Townes graduated from VCU in 2016, and three years later, his father, who works as head butler in Virginia’s Executive Mansion, let his son know of a job opening there. Townes started as assistant butler in 2019 during Gov. Ralph Northam’s administration.

In simple terms, Townes said, a butler manages the household.

“You are the go-between between the first family and the mansion director,” he said.

Townes’ deep love of history, coupled with his coursework at VCU, has helped him slip into the role of custodian of the mansion’s past and present.

“This place where I work is pretty important. It is the oldest continuously occupied executive mansion [since 1813] in the 50 U.S. states,” he said. “Yes, the Executive Mansion is a residence, but it is also a museum.”

In 2023, current Gov. Glenn Youngkin appointed Townes to the Virginia Board of Historic Resources for a four-year term.

“Our duties include approving historical highway markers, approving nominations for Virginia’s Landmarks Register, and we also approve nominations for preservation easements,” Townes said.

This January, the Department of Historic Resources put into place a preservation and open-space easement to protect the historic Richmond home of Ellen Glasgow, the 20th-century Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, poet and literary critic.

“I was very happy to have had a role in that,” Townes said.

He also relishes how his duties on the board and at the mansion offer varied and unique opportunities.

“They definitely keep me on my toes,” Townes said. “Each day is different.”