In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman renovated the White House for almost $6 million. The supports holding up the stairways were crumbling, a ceiling in the east room was sagging, and floors throughout the house were either drooping or, at the very least, shaking when you walked on them. A complete restoration was in order.
MANSFIELD, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A rose marble mantel that was removed from the White House in 1948 is now in Northwest Louisiana, and you can stop by to see it during business hours.
In 1948, U.S. President Harry Truman renovated the White House for almost $6 million. The supports holding up the stairways were crumbling, a ceiling in the east room was sagging, and floors throughout the house were either drooping or, at the very least, shaking when you walked on them.
A complete restoration of the White House was in order.
During Truman's renovation, massive floor beams, pipes, and conduits were replaced. In the process, the East Room of the White House was completed, and a new color scheme and décor were added.
That’s when a rose marble fireplace mantel was removed from the White House.
The history of the mantel is remarkable. It was installed when Theodore Roosevelt was in office and stayed in the White House as a centerpiece of the East Room from the turn of the century until Truman’s renovation.
The administrations of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Harry S. Truman all enjoyed using this remarkable fireplace mantel.
So how did the marble mantel from the White House wind up in Northwest Louisiana? After it was removed from the stately home, the mantle was donated to Mansfield State Historic Site. It has been there since the museum opened, and it was donated by the Kate Beard chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.
But how the Daughters of the Confederacy obtained a marble mantle from the White House is another story entirely.
