Guided Tour
Woodrow Wilson House Museum Tour
Tour of the only presidential residence-museum in Washington, with the bedroom where Wilson died preserved as he left it.
- Duration:
- 1 hr
Museum / Historical Site
Woodrow Wilson House
Kalorama-district Georgian Revival town house where Woodrow Wilson spent his last years after leaving the presidency and died in 1924; staff and visitors report his shuffling gait and sobbing on the third floor.
2340 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Adult admission roughly $15; lower for seniors and students.
Access
Limited Access
Historic home with multiple flights of stairs; ground-floor partially accessible.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1915 · Final residence of President Woodrow Wilson · Site of Wilson's death, February 3, 1924 · Only presidential residence-museum in Washington, D.C. · National Historic Landmark; managed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The Woodrow Wilson House is a five-story brick Georgian Revival town house in the Sheridan-Kalorama Historic District, just off Embassy Row. It was designed in 1915 by Washington architect Waddy Butler Wood for businessman Henry Parker Fairbanks. Woodrow Wilson, completing his second term as President, purchased the house in December 1920 as a retirement gift to his second wife, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson.
Wilson had suffered a serious stroke in September 1919 while on a national tour promoting U.S. ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and entry into the League of Nations. The stroke left him paralyzed on his left side and significantly impaired. Edith Wilson and a small circle of aides effectively managed access to him for the remainder of his presidency, and he completed his term in greatly diminished health.
The Wilsons moved into the S Street house in March 1921, immediately after leaving the White House. Wilson made few public appearances during his three years in the house. He died in an upstairs bedroom on February 3, 1924, at the age of 67.
Edith Wilson remained in the house until her own death on December 28, 1961 — the centennial of her husband's birth. By the terms of her will, the property and its contents passed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the house was opened to the public in 1963 as the Woodrow Wilson House Museum. It is the only presidential residence-museum in Washington, D.C., and the only town-house museum dedicated to a 20th-century president.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodrow_Wilson_House_(Washington,_D.C.)
- https://woodrowwilsonhouse.org/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reportedly_haunted_locations_in_Washington,_D.C.
Shuffling footsteps with cane-like cadence on upper floorsFaint melancholy whistling localized to the fourth floorSound of a man sobbing in the upstairs bedroomApparition of Wilson seated at his desk with a lap robeWilson's rocking chair occasionally seen rocking
Reports of Wilson's continuing presence in the house emerged within decades of his 1924 death. The Baltimore Sun's 1992 'Washington Haunts' feature, ScaryDC, and the Wikipedia compendium of DC haunted locations describe a consistent profile: a shuffling gait associated with Wilson's paralysis and use of a cane, heard moving along upstairs corridors when no one is walking; a faint melancholy whistling, sometimes localized to the fourth floor; and the sound of a man sobbing softly in the upstairs bedroom where he died.
Visual sightings are less common but more specific. Multiple ghost-tour sources (DC Ghosts; ScaryDC) describe an almost-transparent, pale-gray figure seated at Wilson's desk in the study, dressed in shirt and tie with the lower body covered by a lap robe and with facial features that 'show symptoms of a paralytic stroke.' The lap-robe detail is consistent with the documented later-life Wilson and lends the reports an unusual specificity.
The museum does not market the property as haunted, but staff over the years have acknowledged the recurring nature of the reports. The framing of Wilson's haunting is generally melancholic — a man who outlived his health and his political ambitions — rather than dramatic. Coverage by District Real Estate and Haunted Places likewise emphasizes the sorrow rather than the fear.
Notable Entities
Woodrow Wilson
Media Appearances
- Baltimore Sun, 'Washington Haunts,' 1992
Plan Your Visit
1 way to experience
#district-of-columbia
#washington-dc
#kalorama
#embassy-row
#presidential
#historic-home
#national-trust
Sources & Further Reading
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Similar Destinations
Photo coming soon
Museum / Historical Site
Chatillon-DeMenil Mansion
St. Louis, MO
The mansion was built in 1848 as a two-story brick farmhouse by Henri Chatillon, a fur trader and Oregon Trail guide. In 1856 Chatillon sold the house to Nicolas DeMenil, who beginning in 1861 substantially enlarged and remodeled it into the Greek Revival mansion that stands today. The Chatillon-DeMenil House Foundation has operated the property as a house museum since the mid-twentieth century.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Museum / Historical Site
Schifferstadt Architectural Museum
Frederick, MD
Schifferstadt is one of the oldest surviving houses in Frederick, completed in 1758 by Elias Brunner and his wife Albertina on the family's 303-acre farm tract. The Brunners named the property after their hometown in the German Palatinate. The Frederick County Landmarks Foundation purchased the house in 1974 and opened it as an architectural museum.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Museum / Historical Site
LeDuc Historic Estate
Hastings, MN
The LeDuc Historic Estate is one of the United States' best-preserved Gothic Revival residences in the Andrew Jackson Downing manner. William Gates LeDuc and his wife Mary built the Hastings, Minnesota home between 1862 and 1866 along the bluff above the Vermillion River. The estate is now operated by the Dakota County Historical Society.
$ All Ages
Family: High
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Woodrow Wilson House family-friendly?
Family-friendly daytime museum; multiple floors of stairs. Wilson's complex civil-rights legacy is presented in interpretation. Overall family fit: High.
How much does it cost to visit Woodrow Wilson House?
Adult admission roughly $15; lower for seniors and students.
Do I need to book in advance?
No advance booking is required, but checking availability is recommended.
Is Woodrow Wilson House wheelchair accessible?
Woodrow Wilson House has limited wheelchair accessibility. Terrain: Historic home with multiple flights of stairs; ground-floor partially accessible..