ET316 – D.C. in Black & White: The President Woodrow Wilson House

Additional fee, registration required.

This rich architectural experience will immerse you in the life of The Woodrow Wilson House from its founding to today. You'll also get a look at the lives of the Wilsons' Black servants and their own road to home ownership.

The tour will cover:
• The Fairbanks Years (1915−1921), when a wealthy carpet executive built a "first-class, high-grade" house
• The Wilson Years (1921−1924), when the house was adapted for President Woodrow Wilson's final years
• The Edith Years (1924−1961), when the house was preserved by Wilson's widow
• The Museum Years (1961−present), when the house is in the care of the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Learning Objectives

1. Discover the approach to the preservation of the historic home of a former U.S. President and learn of his widow's efforts to that end.
2. Identify historical context that explains how the Wilsons' servants, the Scotts, bought a home in Deanwood, a historically Black middle-class neighborhood.
3. Experience how racially restrictive covenants helped establish white and Black D.C. neighborhoods and limited Black homeownership in D.C.
4. Identify housing policies that were in place and restricted the Scotts' homeownership abilities.

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