The original color of the White House was white. According to the White House Historical Association, when the walls were finished in 1798, they were whitewashed to keep the stone from freezing in winter.
The walls of the White House were whitewashed two years before President John Adams and his wife Abigail moved into the building as its first residents in 1800. According to an often-told but erroneous story, the White House was painted white in 1814, after it was burned down by the British during the War of 1812. Although there is evidence of the President's house being called the White House as early as 1812, Theodore Roosevelt made the name official in September of 1901.
