Existing comment:
A Presidential Retreat, 1850s - 1880s:
Beginning in 1857, in order to build political support for the Soldiers' Home, the commissioners began inviting the president and secretary of war to occupy officers' cottages during the summer. James Buchanan, the first president to accept, wrote from the White House in October 1858, "I sleep much better now, but not near so well as at the Soldiers' Home." He may have recommended the Soldiers' Home to Lincoln, who lived here for thirteen months between 1862 and 1864.
Presidents Andrew Johnson and Ulysses Grant did not stay here, but Rutherford Hayes renewed the tradition in the late 1870s. James Garfield intended to stay here but was assassinated in 1881. Chester Arthur used this summer retreat and also spent the winter 1882-1883 here while the White House was renovated. The traditional probably ended because of the Soldiers' Home growing resident population. |