The Little White House
Key West, Monroe County, Florida
Marker Inscription
Built in 1890 as quarters for navy officers, the Little White House later was used by American Presidents William Howard Taft, Harry S. Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton. Truman used the facility as a vacation home and functioning White House between 1946 and 1952....
Erected by Historic Florida Keys Foundation
The Story
Built in 1890 as officers' quarters on the U.S. Navy's Key West base, this seaside residence found its lasting fame as a presidential retreat. Harry S. Truman fell in love with the island's climate and spent 175 days here across eleven visits between 1946 and 1952, conducting the business of the nation from its rooms and coining the building's enduring nickname. A parade of presidents before and after him — Taft, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Carter, and Clinton — also used the house, cementing its place in the story of the modern presidency.
Why it matters
The Little White House shows how the demands of the modern presidency reached beyond Washington, turning a naval outpost into a working seat of government and a symbol of the office's national reach.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Harry S. Truman
- · William Howard Taft
- · Dwight Eisenhower
- · John F. Kennedy
- · Jimmy Carter
- · Bill Clinton
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Naval Depot and Storehouse-Building One-U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters
Key West, FL
The United States bought this harbor-front lot in Key West in 1833, and Congress authorized a Naval Depot here in 1852, built under the supervision of Capt. J.M. Scarritt and Lt. J.J. Philbrick. Key West's deep harbor made it a strategic foothold for the young republic's navy, guarding the vital shipping lanes of the Florida Straits. The storehouse later served as U.S. Coast Guard headquarters.
U.S. Coast Guard Station Hangar
Miami, FL
Built in 1932 at Dinner Key, this seaplane hangar anchored the first permanent Coast Guard Air Station in the country. From here, seaplanes lumbered off Biscayne Bay to carry out rescues and evacuations across Florida's coasts and the Straits beyond. It stands from the pioneering days when aviation was still being folded into the nation's maritime lifesaving service.
Oldest Church in the Florida Diocese
Key West, FL
The oldest congregation in its Florida diocese, this Key West church stands on a site that has held four successive sanctuaries, the present one dating to 1912. John Fleming, one of the island's four original owners, is buried here, and his widow donated the property on the condition that the pews remain free to all. Its chimes, first hung in an 1886 frame church destroyed by the 1909 hurricane, were the first church chimes in Florida.
Patterson-Baldwin House
Key West, FL
Built in 1838 and relocated to this spot after the devastating hurricane of 1846, the Patterson-Baldwin House is considered one of Key West's oldest buildings. This Classical Revival home is said to have been built, though never occupied, by Alexander Patterson, a prominent citizen and mayor. Later the Pinckney family lived here, and Madame Passaloque is remembered for teaching classes in the house until 1860.