Harry S. Truman Little White House



The Harry S Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida was the winter White House for President Harry S Truman for 175 days during 11 visits. The house is located in the Truman Annex neighborhood of Old Town, Key West.

The house was originally waterfront when it was built in 1890 as the first officer's quarters on the submarine base naval station. The wooden duplex contained Quarters A for the base commandant and Quarters B for the paymaster.

In 1911 the home was converted into a single-family dwelling to house the base commandant and additional land was filled in front of the house. The waterfront view was eventually blocked by a new building at the station.

The first President to visit the site was William Howard Taft in December 1912. He arrived by Flagler's Overseas Railroad and sailed to Panama to inspect the canal then under construction. During World War I, Thomas Edison resided in the house while donating his service to the war effort. He perfected 41 weapons during his six month stay. The house remained command headquarters through World War II.

In November 1946, President Harry S Truman had finished 19 months in office, but was physically exhausted. His doctor, Wallace Graham, ordered a warm vacation. Truman arrived in November, 1946. As he was leaving he promised to return whenever he felt the need for rest. His second vacation came in March 1947. This set the pattern for additional visits every November–December and every February–March. Changing technology allowed the President to communicate with multiple political or world leaders at one time and he could summon staff to Key West for a meeting in three hours flight from Washington. Most importantly, Truman realized that where the President was, the White House was. Documents issued from the Little White House read, The White House, US Naval Station, Key West, Florida. Truman spent 175 days of his presidency at the Little White House in Key West, FL. In 1947, James Forrestal met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to hammer out the creation of the Department of Defense. This was called the Key West Agreement.

During the Truman visits, Cabinet members and foreign officials were regular visitors for fishing trips and poker games. Truman visited Key West shortly after his 1948 re-election and Division Street was renamed Truman Avenue in his honor.

After Truman left office he returned to Key West several times and stayed at various other places.

In 1948-49 General Dwight D. Eisenhower held a series of meetings that resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense. He returned in December 1955 and January 1956 as President to recuperate from a heart attack.

John Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan held a one day summit here in March 1961. President Kennedy made a second visit in 1962 immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The house served as the Naval Station commandant's house until March 1974, when the submarine base was closed due to the Navy's conversion from diesel to nuclear submarines. On February 12 of that year, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

On January 1, 1987, it was deeded to the State of Florida and is held in trust as a public museum. Almost a million dollars restored the house to its 1949 appearance in 1990. A 501 (c) 3 foundation is attempting to further the restoration and hold education conferences each Spring on Truman's impact upon today's society.

In 1991, the house opened as a state historic site & museum. Former President Jimmy Carter and family had a reunion here in 1996. In April, 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell opened a week of OSCE peace talks, led by Minsk Group Co-Chairman Carey Cavanaugh between President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia and Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan.

In January 2005, former President Bill Clinton and his wife, then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, spent a weekend relaxing at the house.