The Governor of the Month for December 2022 is William Larrabee (b.January 20, 1832-d. November 16, 1912). He was born in Ledyard Connecticut to a family of French Huguenot descent. As a teen he suffered an eye injury from a firearm accident, which left him blind in one eye, later preventing him from service in the Civil War. He became a teacher and later became a business owner in Clermont Iowa. He was elected to the Iowa Senate as a Republican in 1867 and then elected governor in 1885. According to Wikipedia, "the byline of his first campaign was, 'a schoolhouse on every hill and no saloons in the valley.'" After serving two terms as governor, he retired to his mansion in Clermont, called Montauk, which is now owned by the state of Iowa and is open part of the year for tours.