Harry S. Truman Little White House
Encyclopedia
The Harry S Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
was the winter White House for President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
for 175 days during 11 visits. The house is located in the Truman Annex
Truman Annex
Truman Annex is both a neighborhood and military installation in Key West, Florida, United States. It is the part of the island that is west of Whitehead Street, with the exception of Bahama Village. It is where the winter White House for President Harry S. Truman is located from its days as part...
neighborhood of Old Town, Key West
Old Town, Key West
Old Town is the name given to the historic district of the island of Key West, Florida.It is basically the western half of the island, with the exception of the Historic Seaport district....
.
The house was originally waterfront when it was built in 1890 as the first officer's quarters on the submarine base
Submarine base
A submarine base is a military base that shelters submarines and their personnel.Examples of present-day submarine bases include HMNB Clyde, Île Longue , Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Naval Submarine Base New London, and Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base .The Israeli navy bases its growing submarine...
naval station. The wooden duplex contained Quarters A for the base commandant and Quarters B for the paymaster.
In 1911 the home was converted into a single family dwelling to house the base commandant and additional land was filled in front of the house. The waterfront view was eventually blocked by a new building at the station.
The first President to visit the site was William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
in December 1912. He arrived by Flagler's Overseas Railroad and sailed to Panama to inspect the canal then under construction. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Thomas Edison
Thomas Edison
Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. In addition, he created the world’s first industrial...
resided in the house while donating his service to the war effort. He perfected 41 weapons during his six month stay. The house remained command headquarters through World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In November 1946, President Harry S Truman had finished 19 months in office, but was physically exhausted. His doctor, Wallace Graham, ordered a warm vacation. Truman arrived in November, 1946. As he was leaving he promised to return whenever he felt the need for rest. His second vacation came in March 1947. This set the pattern for additional visits every November–December and every February–March. Changing technology allowed the President to communicate with multiple political or world leaders at one time and he could summon staff to Key West for a meeting in three hours flight from Washington. Most importantly, Truman realized that where the President was, the White House was. Documents issued from the Little White House read, The White House, US Naval Station, Key West, Florida. Truman spent 175 days of his presidency at the Little White House in Key West, FL.
In 1947, James Forrestal met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to hammer out the creation of the Department of Defense. These are called the Key West Accords.
During the Truman visits, Cabinet members and foreign officials were regular visitors for fishing trips and poker games. Truman visited Key West shortly after his 1948 re-election and Division Street was renamed Truman Avenue in his honor.
After Truman left office he returned to Key West several times and stayed at various other places.
In 1948-49 General Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
held a series of meetings that resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense. He returned in December 1955 and January 1956 as President to recuperate from a heart attack.
John Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
held a one day summit here in March 1961. President Kennedy made a second visit in 1962 immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
.
The house served as the Naval Station commandant's house until March 1974, when the submarine base was closed due to the Navy's conversion from diesel to nuclear submarines. On February 12 of that year, it was added to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
On January 1, 1987, it was deeded to the State of Florida and is held in trust as a public museum. Almost a million dollars restored the house to its 1949 appearance in 1990. A 501 (c) 3
foundation is attempting to further the restoration and hold education conferences each Spring on Truman's impact upon today's society.
In 1991, the house opened as a state historic site & museum. Former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
and family had a reunion here in 1996. In April, 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
opened a week of OSCE peace talks, led by Minsk Group Co-Chairman Carey Cavanaugh
Carey Cavanaugh
Carey Cavanaugh is a former U.S. Ambassador who now serves as Director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky. For twenty-two years, he served as a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State...
between President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia and Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Aliyev
Heydar Alirza oglu Aliyev , also spelled as Heidar Aliev, Geidar Aliev, Haydar Aliyev, Geydar Aliyev was the third President of Azerbaijan for the New Azerbaijan Party from June 1993 to October 2003, when his son Ilham Aliyev succeeded him.From 1969 till 1982, Aliyev was also the leader of Soviet...
of Azerbaijan.
In January 2005, former President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and his wife, then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
, spent a weekend relaxing at the house.