White House Sketches
Presidents on Summer Vacation
February 9, 1912
The Soldier's Home in Washington, D.C. where President Abraham Lincoln and his family spent summers, c. 1863. Library of Congress.
The sweltering heat and humidity of Washington's summers usually meant prolonged summer breaks to cooler climes for Congress and the president. Presidents in modern times often schedule vacations during the “dog-days” of August when the Congress traditionally recesses. Before the advent of modern air conditioning, presidents often established a “summer White house” away from the sultry heat of Washington's summers. Abraham Lincoln and his family spent summers at the Soldier's Home in the hills of northwest Washington, Ulysses S. Grant preferred the shore at Long Beach, New Jersey and William H. Taft and Woodrow Wilson preferred summer houses in Beverly, Massachusetts and Cornish, New Hampshire.