Collection The Decatur House Slave Quarters
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
Main Content
In 1816, Commodore Stephen Decatur, Jr. and his wife Susan moved to the nascent capital city of Washington, D.C. With the prize money he received from his naval feats, Decatur purchased the entire city block on the northwest corner of today’s Lafayette Square. The Decaturs commissioned Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of America’s first professional architects, to design and build a house “fit for entertaining.” In 1819, the house was completed—making it the first private residence in the President’s Neighborhood. Since then, the Decatur House and its history have been intertwined with that of the Executive Mansion. Notable White House figures such as Secretary of State Henry Clay, Secretary of State and future President Martin Van Buren, and Vice President George M. Dallas all lived at the Decatur House. Behind the house sits an urban slave quarters, one of the few remaining examples left in Washington, D.C. In 1956, Decatur House was given to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by Marie Beale. The White House Historical Association manages the Decatur House property on behalf of the National Trust, and The David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History is located within the house itself.
A White House Painting in Decatur House Storage
Stephen Decatur in the President's Neighborhood
The Death and Legacy of Stephen Decatur
In 1821-1822, Susan Decatur requested the construction of a service wing. The first floor featured a large kitchen, dining room,...
Since the White House was first occupied by President John Adams in 1800, influential people and organizations—or those who hoped to...
For more than a century, thousands of Americans have gathered in Lafayette Park across from the White House to exercise...
Since the James Madison presidency, St. John’s Church has been an important part of the life of Lafayette Square an...
Thousands of people traverse historic Lafayette Park every day to get a glimpse of the White House. The park, right...
The White House observance of Christmas before the twentieth century was not an official event. First families decorated the house...
First Lady Lou Hoover's invitation to Jessie L. DePriest to a White House tea party in 1929 created a storm of...
For two hundred years, Decatur House has stood as a near neighbor to the White House across Lafayette Square. Stewart...
Today, the celebration of Halloween conjures images of costumed trick-or-treaters, sweets, and jack-o'-lanterns; but there was a time when All...
The institution of slavery and the stories of enslaved people have always been a part of the fabric of White...
In this special episode of The 1600 Sessions, financier and philanthropist David Rubenstein interviews White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin...
For more than two hundred years, Lafayette Square has been home to a wide variety of historical figures, from diplomats...