Wayne County, NC - Heritage Series Reprinted with permission of the Mount Olive Tribune and cannot be reproduced without permission. The White House, 1792-1992 "Our Hertiage" By Claude Moore During 1992 the White House in Washington will be celebrating the 200th anniversary of its building. It has been the official residence for all the American presidents except President Washington and is without a doubt the most famous house in the nation. The cornerstone was laid by President Washington and the Masons from Georgetown on October 13, 1792. Even though the White House was not complete, President Adams and his family moved into the finished portion in November, 1800. President Washington had died the preceding December at Mount Vernon and the Capital was still Philadelphia. It had been agreed in 1787 at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia that the United States Capital would eventually be moved south to the Potomac. In 1790 the District of Columbia was laid out and Pierre Charles L'Enfant (pronounced Lonfont), Frenchman, was employed by President Washington to draw up a plan for the Capital city. L'Enfant was aided by Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary of State, in drawing the plan which included broad diagonal avenues, parks and circles. The commissioners advertised in the newspapers for a plan for the President's House offering a prize of five hundred dollars in gold. Several plans were submitted including one by Jefferson and one by D. William Thornton but the winner was James Hoban of Charleston, South Carolina, a native of Kilkenny, Ireland. Hoban had studied architectural design in Dublin, had migrated to Philadelphia and then to Charleston, S.C. Hoban's plan was Georgian and was probably inspired by the Leinster House in Dublin, and has some of the features of Sir Christopher Wren's designs. His plan called for three stories above the ground, but Washington induced him to omit the third story. The cost of the building was four hundred thousand dollars. The commissioners gave Hoban the job as superintendent of the project. The exterior was to be of white sandstone and the interior frame was to be wood with some brick supports and brick for the chimneys. The White House was actually not completed until 1829. In 1814 during the War of 1812, the White House and the Capitol buildings were burned by the British, at least the interiors. During President Monroe's administration the White House was rebuilt and furnished in elegant French period furniture, some coming from France. In 1829 the north portico was added. Social activities varied during the various administrations. While General LaFayette was visiting in the United States in 1824-25, he spent the summer of 1825 at the White House during the administration of President John Quincy Adams. On President Andrew Jackson's inaugural day, more than 20,000 people were either in or around the White House. The White House remained unchanged until 1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt enlarged the family quarters. President Franlin D. Roosevelt added the indoor pool. President Harry Truman between 1948-1952, had the complete interior of the White House removed, except the State Dining Room, and was rebuilt with a steel frame work and reinforced concrete. He also added the second story balcony to the south portico. There is now on display at the Octagon Museum in Washington (199 New York Avenue, N.W.) a collection of documents, drawings, objects, and photographs pertaining to the White House which is part of the bicentennial celebration of the laying of the cornerstone on October 13, 1792. ============================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, data may be used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. The electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or for presentation by other persons or organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for purposes other than stated above must obtain the written consent of the file contributor, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Guy Potts ==============================================================