Outline of the President's House.
Click for enlargement.

New to the Website

• Redefining the "Cradle of Liberty": The President's House Controversy in Independence National Historical Park July 1, 2010 [Roger C. Aden, Rhetoric & Public Affairs]

Samuel Fraunces: Black Man or White Man? Fraunces was steward at the President's House.

Chickasaws Visit President Washington (1794), written by Richard Green, tribal historian.

The house shown above no longer exists, but it served as the "White House" from 1790 to 1800 while Philadelphia was the capital of the United States. It stood on Market Street, one block north of Independence Hall. The entrance to the new Liberty Bell Center is at the site where Washington ordered slave quarters built to house some of the nine enslaved persons of African descent he brought to Philadelphia.

In this website you will find:

• History Articles, legislation, maps, photos
  
• Slavery at the President's House including biographies of the nine
  
• Timeline 1947-Present History buried and reclaimed
  
• The Project From competition to completion, including excavations
  
• In the News Hundreds of article clippings from various news sources
  
• Write Us Share your thoughts with others
  
• Links Additional online resources
  

Of Special Interest...

• Brief History of the President's House
• President's House Slavery: By the Numbers: A helpful primer
• Archaeological Excavation

President's House Quick Facts

• This was the "White House" from 1790-1800, while the capital city was being built in what is today Washington D.C.
• Nine enslaved persons of African descent in Washington's household: Oney Judge, Moll, Austin, Hercules, Richmond, Giles, Paris, Christopher Sheels, and Joe (Richardson)
• Oney Judge and Hercules both escaped to freedom (Oney Judge escaped from Philadelphia)
• Important bills signed here: Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 (Washington), Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 (Adams)
• Slave quarters for Washington's stablehands were 5 feet from entrance to Liberty Bell Center (the Liberty Bell was the symbol of the Abolition movement)

Where Did the Enslaved Sleep?

Not all the enslaved were housed in the slavequarters. According to correspondence between Washington and his secretary, we conclude that:

• Hercules, Richmond (Hercules' son), and Christopher Sheels (nephew of Billy Lee) slept in the attic of the main house
• Oney Judge and Moll (the two women) slept in a divided room over the kitchen with Mrs. Washington's grandchildren
• Austin (half-brother of Oney Judge), Paris, Giles, and, later Joe (Richardson), slept in the quarters Washington ordered built between the smokehouse and the stable (the "slavequarters")

President's House Short Timeline

• 1767, the house was built by Mary Lawrence Masters
• 1772, Richard Penn, a grandson of William Penn, used this as the Governor's Mansion for the colony of Pennsylvania
• General Sir William Howe's headquarters 1777-78 during the British occupation
• Benedict Arnold began his betrayal here
• Financier/Signer Robert Morris bought the house after the 1780 fire, and lived here while Superintendent of Finance. In 1790, he rented it to Philadelphia for Washington's use and sold it in 1795.
• Washington's "White House" for more than 6 years (1790-97) and John Adams's for almost 4 years (1797-1800)
• After 1800 the house became the Francis's Union Hotel (which failed)
• In 1832, the building was gutted, leaving only the side walls and the foundations, and three narrow stores were built within the frontage.
• Most of the western wall was removed by 1941, and what remained of it along with the eastern wall were demolished in 1951 to create Independence Mall.
• Learn more

Site Map