On October 13, 1792, the cornerstone of the building that is now known as the White House was laid in Washington. The ceremony was performed by Masons and the commissioners of the District of Columbia, but the preparation of the terrain and the construction of the foundations had already begun in July of that year. Therefore, the date is associated with the official start of construction, and not with the first excavation of the terrain.
The future residence is part of the plan for the new American capital. George Washington chose the site in 1791, and the French engineer Pierre Charles Lanfan envisioned the presidential residence and the Capitol as the two main focuses of the federal city. The competition for designs was announced on March 14, 1792. Later that year, the design of James Hoban, an Irish-born and trained architect who was then working in Charleston, South Carolina, was selected.
A building for the new federal government
The building was originally called the President's House. Hoban's design was influenced by the country estates of the British Isles, but was modified during construction. Lack of funds and materials meant that the building was smaller than originally planned and had two main stories instead of three. Light sandstone from Acquah Creek in Virginia was used for the facade, and the interior of the stone walls was supplemented with brick.
A mixed labor force was behind the construction. Free laborers from the area, immigrants from Ireland and Scotland, and enslaved African Americans participated. According to the White House Historical Association, enslaved workers cleared the land, quarried and transported stone, made thousands of bricks, and participated in carpentry work. The government does not own these people, but hires them from their owners.
The first occupants arrived in 1800.
After eight years of work, the building was still not completely finished when President John Adams and his wife Abigail moved in on November 1, 1800. They were the first presidential family to live in it. In a letter to Abigail, written a day later, Adams left words that have become one of the most famous messages associated with the residence: “I pray Heaven to bestow upon this house and all who shall hereafter inhabit it, its best blessings.“
The facade was whitewashed before the building was fully completed. Thus, the unofficial name "White House" gradually took hold, and it began to be used around 1811. However, the building did not remain intact. On August 24, 1814, British troops burned it down during the War of 1812, and reconstruction began in 1815, again under the leadership of James Hoban. The presidential residence was ready for re-occupation in 1817.
Sources: history.com, nationalgeographic.com, time.com