The White House Historical Association, founded in 1961 through efforts of

First Lady First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state fo ...

Jacqueline Kennedy Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A po ...

, is a private, non-profit organization that works to preserve the history of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

and make that history more accessible to the public. , the president of the association is Stewart McLaurin.

History

After moving into the White House in 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy founded the White House Historical Association, which was chartered on November 3 of that year. The goals of the association were to raise private funds for maintaining and renovating the White House and to create an official White House guidebook. In 1981, under First Lady

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

, the association began its current practice of selling a unique White House

Christmas ornament Christmas ornaments, baubles, "Christmas bulbs" or "Christmas bubbles" are wiktionary:decoration, decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be Weaving, woven, Glassblowing, blown (Glassblowing, glass or Blow ...

to the public each year. Beginning in 1982, each year's ornament honors a different president. Since 1981, the ornaments are primarily manufactured at

Beacon Design by ChemArt A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a Geodetic datum, specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into ...

Lincoln, Rhode Island Lincoln is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,529 at the 2020 census. Lincoln is located in northeastern Rhode Island, north of Providence. Lincoln is part of the Providence metropolitan statistical are ...

. , hundreds of thousands of ornaments are sold each year. The White House Historical Association also produces the wooden eggs distributed during the annual White House

Easter Egg Roll Egg rolling, or an Easter egg roll is a traditional game played with eggs at Easter. Different nations have different versions of the game, usually played with hard-boiled, decorated eggs. History In Christianity, for the celebration of Easterti ...

. Financier and former White House staffer David M. Rubenstein donated $10 million to the association in 2011 to establish the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History, an educational institute under the White House Historical Association's purview. In 2016, the association created a Digital Library, currently hosted on

Amazon Web Services Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) is a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Amazon that provides Software as a service, on-demand cloud computing computing platform, platforms and Application programming interface, APIs to individuals, companies, and gover ...

(AWS). The partnership between the association and AWS expanded the following year. In 2018, the association shared a collection of roughly 25,000 photographs of White House history that it had organized and digitized for the first time. The association also created a monthly podcast, called 1600 Sessions, in 2017.

Scope

Maintenance and restoration

In its work, the White House Historical Association collaborates with the

first family First Family is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. A first family usually consists of: the head of state, the first spouse and their children. Related terms The term ''second family'' is often used to refer to t ...

, the

White House chief usher The White House chief usher is the head of household staff and operations at the White House, the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States of America. The position is currently held by Robert B. Downing, wh ...

, and the

curator of the White House The White House Office of the Curator is charged with the conservation and study of the collection of fine art, furniture and decorative objects used to furnish both the public and private rooms of the White House as an official residence and a ...

. The association focuses on maintaining and interpreting the state rooms of the White House

Executive Residence Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dire ...

and the rest of the

White House Complex The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800 ...

. The association also works with the

Committee for the Preservation of the White House The Committee for the Preservation of the White House is an advisory committee charged with the preservation of the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the president of the United States. The committee is largely made up of c ...

to curate and purchase new decorations and art for the White House. This includes funding the creation of unique state china

tableware Tableware is any dish or dishware used for setting a table, serving food, and dining. It includes cutlery, List of glassware, glassware, serving dishes, and other items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variet ...

for several presidential administrations and funding one portrait of each President and First Lady. The association also helps fund maintenance and restoration of some rooms of the White House.

Education

The association publishes the official White House guide. In the

White House Visitor Center The White House Visitors Office is responsible for public tours of the White House, for maintaining a facility where the public can obtain information about the White House, and for other White House events such as the White House Easter Egg Roll, ...

, the association operates a gift shop and book store. The association also creates and publishes media on the history, art, and architecture of the White House, and the quarterly journal ''

White House History ''White House History'' is a quarterly periodical published by the White House Historical Association, a private, non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance the public's understanding, appreciation, and enjoyment of the White House, the of ...

''. , books published by the association had sold more than eight million copies. The association sponsors scholarship, seminars, and exhibitions on the history of the White House. , the association awarded three White House History Fellowships each year in collaboration with the

Organization of American Historians The Organization of American Historians (OAH), formerly known as the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, is the largest professional society dedicated to the teaching and study of American history. OAH's members in the U.S. and abroad inc ...

. It operates the David M. Rubenstein National Center for White House History at

Decatur House Decatur House is a historic house museum at 748 Jackson Place in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It is named after its first owner and occupant Stephen Decatur. The house (built, 1818) is located at the northwest corner of L ...

Funding

The majority of the funding for the White House Historical Association comes from private contributions, in addition to corporate contributions and the sale of publications and gift items. The association manages the

White House Acquisition Trust The White House Acquisition Trust is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt fund established to finance the purchase of fine art and decorative arts for the White House, the official home and principal workplace of the president of the United States. The ...

and the

White House Endowment Trust The White House Endowment Trust, sometimes also called the White House Endowment Fund, is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt fund established to finance the ongoing restoration and refurbishment of the state rooms at the White House, the official hom ...

Leadership

The association’s current president,

Stewart McLaurin Stewart McLaurin is an author and non-profit executive who is now the president of the White House Historical Association. Background McLaurin is the son of Stewart Parnell McLaurin and Gwendolyn McLaurin (née Stafford). An Alabama native, McLa ...

, has served since 2014, focused on expanding its audiences, educational programming, development base and impact. He is the author of James Hoban: Designer and Builder of the White House. Previous top executives have been Nash Castro, Daniel E. Davis, Hillory A. Tolson, Bernard R. Meyer and Neil W. Horstman. The current board chair, John F. W. Rogers, has served since January 2022. Previous board chairs were

Fred Ryan Frederick Joseph Ryan Jr. (born April 12, 1955) is an American media proprietor, political adviser, and lawyer who serves as the publisher and chief executive officer of ''The Washington Post''. He was the president and chief operating officer o ...

, David E. Finley Jr., Dr. Melvin Payne, Robert L. Breeden, Hugh Sidey, and Henry A. Dudley Jr.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

Website of the White House Historical Association

{{authority control Historical Association, White House Heritage organizations Historic preservation organizations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Washington, D.C. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis