imported>Ejack22: Hello Wikipedians, I have added the grant funded to the Decatur house by American express in 2013. I have also detailed the event attendees and purpose of the grant.

2025-04-30T20:48:04Z

Hello Wikipedians, I have added the grant funded to the Decatur house by American express in 2013. I have also detailed the event attendees and purpose of the grant.

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{{short description|Historic house in Washington, D.C., United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Decatur House
| nrhp_type = nhl
| image = Decatur House north side.jpg
| caption = North side of Decatur House as restored 2006–2008.
| location = 748 [[Jackson Place|Jackson Pl.]], NW.<br>[[Washington, D.C.]]
| nearest_city =
| coordinates = {{coord|38|54|0.2|N|77|2|17.4|W|region:US-DC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = United States Washington, D.C. central#Washington, D.C.#USA
| area = < {{convert|1|acre|ha|adj=on}}
| built = 1818
| architect = Benjamin Henry Latrobe
| architecture = Federal
| designated_nrhp_type=December 19, 1960<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=653&ResourceType=Building|title=Decatur House|accessdate=2008-07-02|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606091325/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=653&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2011-06-06|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| added =October 15, 1966<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| visitation_num =
| visitation_year =
| refnum =66000858
| mpsub =
| governing_body =
| nrhp_type2 = nhldcp |nocat=y
| designated_nrhp_type2 = August 29, 1970
| partof = [[Lafayette Square Historic District (Washington, D.C.)|Lafayette Square Historic District]]
| partof_refnum = 70000833
}}
'''Decatur House''' is a [[historic house museum]] at 748 [[Jackson Place]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], the [[capital city|capital]] of the [[United States]]. It is named after its first owner and occupant, the naval officer [[Stephen Decatur|Stephen Decatur Jr]].<ref name="nhlsum"/> Built in 1818, the house is located at the northwest corner of [[Lafayette Square Historic District (Washington, D.C.)|Lafayette Square]], about a block from the [[White House]].

In 1836, new owners built an outbuilding on the property at the back which was in part used for [[Slavery in the United States|slave quarters]]. Until the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] went into effect on January 1, 1863, weekly auctions of enslaved black persons were held in the house's backyard, now a wedding venue.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bishop |first=Jim |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k6QVrYdjlLoC&q=decatur |title=The Day Lincoln Was Shot |date=2013-10-22 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06-137487-6 |page=18 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Make History Your Story |url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/decatur-house/make-history-your-story |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=WHHA (en-US) |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-12-27 |title=Triumph and Tragedy at Decatur House |url=http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2010/12/triumph-and-tragedy-at-decatur-house.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en}}</ref> The building currently houses a museum, as well as the National Center for White House History, operated by the [[White House Historical Association]].

==History==
Decatur House is one of the oldest surviving homes in Washington, D.C., and one of only three remaining houses in the country designed by neoclassical architect [[Benjamin Henry Latrobe]]. Completed in 1818 for naval hero [[Stephen Decatur]] and his wife, Susan, the [[Federal Style]] house is prominently located across [[Lafayette Square Historic District (Washington, D.C.)|Lafayette Square]] from the [[White House]]. It was successively home to [[Henry Clay]], [[Martin Van Buren]] and [[Edward Livingston]], who collectively made Decatur House the unofficial residence of the Secretary of State from 1827 to 1833, each renting the house while they served in that post.
[[File:DecaturFoyer1.JPG|thumb|left|The foyer of the Decatur House, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, shown in its restored state.]]
In 1836 the wealthiest man in Washington D.C., [[John Gadsby (tavern keeper)|John Gadsby]] and his wife Providence moved into the house and brought their house slaves.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-12-27 |title=Triumph and Tragedy at Decatur House |url=http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2010/12/triumph-and-tragedy-at-decatur-house.html |access-date=2024-02-08 |language=en}}</ref> They built a two-story structure at the back to house the home's kitchen and serve as quarters for those Gadsby had enslaved, who previously lived in the main house. This structure is one of the few surviving examples of urban slave quarters. It is also one of the only surviving pieces of physical evidence that African Americans were once held "in bondage [within] sight of the White House."<ref>[http://www.decaturhouse.org/site/gadsby.htm "The Slave Quarters"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502055551/http://www.decaturhouse.org/site/gadsby.htm |date=2009-05-02 }}, Decatur House, accessed 21 Apr 2009</ref>

Following John Gadsby's death, the home was again rented to a series of prominent tenants. In order, these were Vice President [[George M. Dallas]], publisher and former Mayor of Washington [[Joseph Gale]]s, Congressmen and brothers [[John A. King]] and [[James G. King]], Rep. [[William Appleton (politician)|William Appleton]], Speaker of the House [[James Lawrence Orr]] and Sen. [[Judah Benjamin]]. During the Civil War it was used as Army offices and then sat empty for six years.

Decatur House was purchased in 1872 by [[Edward Fitzgerald Beale]], a frontiersman and explorer who later became a rancher and diplomat.<ref>Gerald Thompson, ''Edward F. Beale and the American West'', University of New Mexico Press, 1983.</ref> Beale's daughter-in-law, Marie, bequeathed Decatur House to the [[National Trust for Historic Preservation]] in 1956. The house was designated a [[U.S. National Historic Landmark]] in 1976.<ref name="nhlsum"/><ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite journal|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Decatur House|url={{NHLS url|id=66000858}} |format=pdf|date=February 8, 1971 |author=W. Brown Morton, III |publisher=National Park Service}} and {{NHLS url|id=66000858|title=''Accompanying three photos, exterior, from 1971''|photos=y}} {{small|(32 KB)}}</ref> In May of 2013, [[American Express]] granted the Decatur House $1 million. This event was attended by then First Lady Michelle Obama and a host of 6th grade students. The grant was said to "allow the [[White House Historical Association]] to conduct further research to understand and promote Decatur House's historical significance as well as support children's educational programs" .<ref>{{Cite web |title=Log In - ProQuest |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1353637759/abstract/4E51C13191724060PQ/1?accountid=28903&sourcetype=Wire%20Feeds |access-date=2025-04-30 |website=www.proquest.com |language=en}}</ref>

Decatur House, now a museum, is located at 748 [[Jackson Place]], N.W., on [[President's Park]] (Lafayette Park). The lower floor is kept in the style of the early 19th century while the upper floor was renovated in the early 20th century.

Because of the centrality of its location, the status of its residents, and the fact that urban slaves worked there across from the White House, the house now contains much material interpreting African American history. Among the stories is that of [[Charlotte Dupuy]], who in 1829 sued her master Henry Clay, then Secretary of State, for her freedom and that of her two children. While she lost her court case, Clay finally freed Dupuy and her daughter in 1840, and her son in 1844. A special exhibit on African American history through 1965 has recently been added to the museum and its website.<ref>[http://www.decaturhouse.org/exhibitions/exhibit.htm '' 'The Half Had Not Been Told Me': The African American History of Lafayette Square (1795-1965)'', accessed 21 Apr 2009] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090502055813/http://www.decaturhouse.org/exhibitions/exhibit.htm |date=2009-05-02 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of residences of presidents of the United States]]

{{Commons category|Decatur House}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.whitehousehistory.org/decatur-house Decatur House on Lafayette Square: Washington, DC]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110606091325/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=653&ResourceType=Building Listing] at the [[National Park Service]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190705015333/https://www.nps.gov/nr/twhp/wwwlps/lessons/19decatur/19decatur.htm ''Decatur House: A Home of the Rich and Powerful,'' a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan]

{{White House}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1818]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Benjamin Henry Latrobe buildings and structures]]
[[Category:Federal architecture in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:African-American museums in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Historic house museums in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Slave cabins and quarters in the United States]]
[[Category:Henry Clay]]

Decatur House - Revision history

imported>Ejack22: Hello Wikipedians, I have added the grant funded to the Decatur house by American express in 2013. I have also detailed the event attendees and purpose of the grant.