Woodrow Wilson House

What it is

The Woodrow Wilson House is a historic brick house at 2340 S Street NW in Washington, D.C. The photograph shows a three-story red brick house with white stone trim, arched windows, and a columned front entrance with a small balcony. Banners on the lawn read 'Where Women Made History' and 'On View Now in the Garden'. Henry Fairbanks built the house in 1915 on a design by Waddy Wood. Wilson bought it near the end of his second term as a gift to his wife, Edith Bolling Wilson. The National Trust for Historic Preservation owns the house and operates it as a museum.

Why it matters

Wilson moved into the house on March 4, 1921, after leaving the White House, and spent his retirement there. He died there on February 3, 1924. Edith Wilson lived in the house until her death in 1961 and left it and its furnishings to the National Trust. Visitors also learn about the staff who worked there and about Edith Wilson's role in preserving the house.

Look closer

• What does the house suggest about the way a former president lived after office?
• Why might Edith Wilson have wanted the house kept as it was?
• Whose work and stories would a visitor not see in the rooms, and how could you find them?