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The White House Grounds began as approximately 85 acres of land chosen by George Washington and were cultivated by garden-loving President Thomas Jefferson. These shifting grounds around the Executive Mansion have seen retaining walls, green houses, vegetable gardens, and beautiful flowers. Changes to the landscape came in long intervals and evolved to fit the era and the needs of the residents.
The annual Easter Egg Roll at the White House has been a regular public event since 1878 and a subject of interest to Americans across the country.Reports from White House Easter Egg Rolls Past:"The White House Lawn" | The Washington Post, April 23, 1889 "On the broad portico of the southern entrance stood the president of the United States holding in his
The egg roll holds such an important place in White House history that no president wants to be known for canceling it. World War I and food rationing stopped the event from being hosted at the White House. In 1942, egg rollers were sent back to the Capitol grounds, the place from which they had been ousted 66 years before. World War
By the 1920s electric vacuum cleaners were cleaning the White House carpets, and an electric refrigerator was humming in the kitchen. Warren G. Harding had the house's first radio set installed in his study in 1922 on the second floor. To further advance the use of electricity, Calvin Coolidge celebrated the holiday season of 1923 by lighting the first National Christmas Tree
The primary Easter Monday entertainment at the White House has always involved egg rolling. Participants roll dyed, hard-boiled eggs across the grass to see whose will go the furthest before cracking. Other egg sports enjoyed in the early years were egg ball, toss and catch, egg croquet and egg picking—a contest where eggs are pecked together until they crack. Af
