John Adams and the President’s House : “On this house… under this roof”

On this day in 1800, President John Adams, the second president, becomes the first acting president to reside in Washington, D.C. However, President Adams lived at a temporary residence during construction on the President’s Mansion, also known as the President’s House. We now know that house as the White House.

Construction began in 1792, but it was not until November 1, 1800 that John Adams moved into the executive mansion. Then, the next day he wrote to his wife Abigail about their new home:

“I pray heaven to bestow the best of blessings on this house and on all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof!”