Presidential Accommodations: A Virtual Tour of Five National Trust Historic Sites
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Plan Your VisitWelcome to the fifth installment of National Trust Historic Sites virtual tours. This week we tour five of the National Trust's sites that are houses with a connection to U.S. presidents or presidential history. It will come as little surprise that all five sites are located in or near Washington, D.C. Ranging from a Colonial-era country estate to a stylish urban townhouse, these sites represent America's birth as a nation, Emancipation, and the emergence of the United States as a world power.
The first site on tour this week is the oldest of the National Trust's Historic Sites with a connection to the United States presidency—James Madison's Montpelier, constructed circa 1760. A blend of Georgian and Federal styles, the two story brick mansion was the lifelong home of James Madison, fourth president of the United States, father of the Constitution, and architect of the Bill of Rights; and his wife, Dolley, America's first "First Lady."
photo by: Jenn Glass
Located on 2,650 acres in Orange, Virginia, with a spectacular view of the Blue Ridge mountains, Montpelier’s extensive grounds, feature formal walkways, landscape beds, gardens, and large open fields where steeplechase horse racing competitions are held annually.
photo by: Garrett Ross
At Montpelier, James Madison shaped the ideas that would become the U.S. Constitution. For six months, Madison sat in his upstairs library where he meticulously studied past forms of governments and organized his thoughts into what he believed were the ideal principles for a representative democracy. Madison’s ideas would become the “Virginia Plan,” and later the framework for the Constitution.
photo by: Montpelier Foundation/Jennifer Glass
Reconstructed slave cabins on Montpelier’s South Yard are part of an exhibit called “The Mere Distinction of Colour,” which documents the stories of the enslaved individuals who lived at the plantation and examines Madison’s complicated relationship with slavery.
Ongoing archaeological work at Montpelier helps staff continue to learn about the property. In 2015, the work of metal detectorists collaborating with archaeological professionals revealed that Montpelier’s East Woods (shown here) had served as a massive infantry camp during the Civil War.
Next on tour, we visit Woodlawn, a 126-acre estate that was originally part of George Washington’s Mount Vernon. The main Federal-style house was designed by the architect of the U.S. Capitol, Dr. William Thornton, and constructed between 1800 and 1805 for Washington’s nephew, Major Lawrence Lewis, and his wife, Eleanor “Nelly” Custis Lewis.
photo by: Woodlawn
By the turn of the 20th century, at two centuries old, Woodlawn was sadly deteriorated and only saved through the efforts of Elizabeth Sharpe, a Pennsylvania coal heiress who modernized and restored the home.
Located on the banks of the Potomac River overlooking Mount Vernon, Woodlawn became the first historic site owned by the National Trust in 1952. As such, Woodlawn is recognized for its role in the development of the American preservation movement.
photo by: Gordon Beall
In its early years, the Woodlawn plantation enslaved at least 90 men and women until 1846, when Quaker families transformed the site into a free labor agricultural economy, using the house as a school and an early Meeting place.
photo by: Gordon Beall
Today the site operates as museum and houses a historical collection that includes various portraits, Lewis family records, and the early American needlework stitched by Nelly and her grandmother, Martha Washington.
Next, we travel to the heart of Washington, D.C. As one of the earliest residences in our nation’s capital, Decatur House has always had a front row seat to politics. Located next to the White House on Lafayette Square, the house features a grand entrance, a hidden brick courtyard, and stately entertaining parlors that have hosted many of the nation’s most prominent figures.
photo by: Decatur House
Designed by architect Benjamin Henry Latrobe in 1818, this historic home was the first and last private residence in Lafayette Square. The Federal Style house was commissioned by Commodore Stephen Decatur who made a name for himself during both the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812 as a brave Naval hero.
photo by: Alex Green
As with many homes built in the early 19th century, Decatur House included slave quarters, which were located in the building’s service wing. The first floor housed the kitchen and dining space for servants and enslaved people, while the second floor was the living quarters.
Though no United States president ever lived in Decatur House, today the building functions as the White House Historical Association offices and home to the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History. The center houses historical documentation, supports research efforts, and provides education programs related to the study and history of the White House.
The fourth stop on our virtual tour is also located in Washington, D.C., on a hillside with a view of the Capitol. What is now known as President Lincoln's Cottage, is the most significant historic site directly associated with Lincoln's presidency aside from the White House. The Cottage is where Lincoln lived for over a quarter of his presidency and made some of his most critical decisions.
The historic Cottage, built in the Gothic revival style, was constructed from 1842 to 1843 as the home of George Washington Riggs. The U.S. government purchased the Riggs estate to establish a Soldiers Home and the cottage became a presidential retreat in 1857.
photo by: Carol Highsmith
A life-size bronze statue of Lincoln and his horse highlights the president’s daily commute from the cottage to the White House. Early in his presidency, he commuted alone, but later during the Civil War he was accompanied by soldiers.
photo by: Erica Abbey
A reproduction of the White House desk Lincoln had transported to the cottage when he and his family were in residence. Well-known as Lincoln’s summer home and retreat, it was here that the president drafted the Emancipation Proclamation.
The final house on tour is The President Woodrow Wilson House, a historic site devoted to teaching about the early twentieth century and President Wilson’s legacy of ideas that remain relevant today. President Wilson changed the president’s role in the government, the government’s role in American society, and America’s role in the world. He imagined the world at peace and proposed the League of Nations to achieve that vision. He led the United States during World War I. However, the site also examines President Wilson’s significant failings and contradictions, particularly relating to race and civil liberties.
photo by: Todd A. Smith
Woodrow Wilson House is the home where the president and his wife lived after leaving the White House in 1921. Located near “Embassy Row” in Washington, D.C.’s historic Sheridan Kalorama neighborhood, this National Trust Historic Site was designed in 1915 by Waddy B. Wood, a fashionable Washington architect of the time.
Open to the public since 1963, the Woodrow Wilson House is decorated much as it was when President Wilson lived here (as shown above), replete with his art, photographs, furniture, gifts of state, and presidential memorabilia.
photo by: Todd A. Smith
The home contains more than 8,000 artifacts, including the dip pen with which President Wilson signed the Declaration of War for World War I, a mosaic presented by Pope Benedict XV, a gold timepiece presented by the first President of Czechoslovakia, and a “graph-o-scope” presented by Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.
Check out the rest of our virtual tours of National Trust Historic Sites, exploring places related to Commerce and Industry, Sacred Places, Garden Glory, Architectural Traditions, Modernism, and Southern History.
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