After eight years of construction on the White House, President
John Adams and his wife,  Abigail, moved into the unfinished
home in 1800.

On August 24, 1814, during the War of 1812 between the United States and
England, British troops entered Washington, D.C. and burned the White
House in retaliation for the American attack on the city of York in Ontario,
Canada, in June 1813.

When the British arrived at the White House, they found that President
James Madison and his first lady Dolley had already fled to safety in
Maryland. Soldiers reportedly sat down to eat a meal made of leftover
food from the White House scullery using White House dishes and silver
before ransacking the presidential mansion and setting it ablaze.

President James Madison and wife Dolly.

Depiction of George Washington laying the cornerstone for the White House in a freemason ceremony.

The cornerstone is laid for a presidential residence in the newly designated
capital city of Washington. In 1800, President John Adams became the first president to reside in the executive mansion, which soon became known as
the “White House” because its white-gray Virginia freestone contrasted
strikingly with the red brick of nearby buildings.

The city of Washington was created to replace Philadelphia as the nation’s
capital because of its geographical position in the center of the existing
new republic. The states of Maryland and Virginia ceded land around the
Potomac River to form the District of Columbia, and work began on
Washington in 1791.

    
 
  The original design of the White House in 1800. 
     

    
    
    

An artist’s interpretation of the construction of the White House.

The White House as it looks today.

During the War of 1812 between the United States and England, British troops
enter Washington, D.C. and burn the White House in retaliation for the
American attack on the city of York in Ontario, Canada, in June 1812.

When the British arrived at the White House, they found that President James Madison and his first lady Dolley had already fled to safety in Maryland.

Soldiers reportedly sat down to eat a meal made of leftover food from the
White House scullery using White House dishes and silver before ransacking
the presidential mansion and setting it ablaze.

James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751– June 28, 1836)

Remains of the White House after the fire of 1814.