Harry S . Truman Little White House ] The Harry S Truman Little White House in Key West , Florida was the winter White House for President Harry S Truman for 175 days during 11 visits . The house is located in the Truman Annex neighborhood of Old Town , Key West . The house was originally waterfront when it was built in 1890 as the first officer ' s quarters on the submarine base naval station . The wooden duplex contained Quarters A for the base commandant and Quarters B for the paymaster . In 1911 the home was converted into a single - family dwelling to house the base commandant and additional land was filled in front of the house . The waterfront view was eventually blocked by a new building at the station . The first President to visit the site was William Howard Taft in December 1912 . He arrived by Flagler ' s Overseas Railroad and sailed to Panama to inspect the canal then under construction . During World War I , Thomas Edison resided in the house while donating his service to the war effort . He perfected 41 weapons during his six month stay . The house remained command headquarters through World War II . In November 1946 , President Harry S Truman had finished 19 months in office , but was physically exhausted . His doctor , Wallace Graham , ordered a warm vacation . Truman arrived in November , 1946 . As he was leaving he promised to return whenever he felt the need for rest . His second vacation came in March 1947 . This set the pattern for additional visits every November – December and every February – March . Changing technology allowed the President to communicate with multiple political or world leaders at one time and he could summon staff to Key West for a meeting in three hours flight from Washington . Most importantly , Truman realized that where the President was , the White House was . Documents issued from the Little White House read , The White House , US Naval Station , Key West , Florida . Truman spent 175 days of his presidency at the Little White House in Key West , FL . In 1947 , James Forrestal met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to hammer out the creation of the Department of Defense . This was called the Key West Agreement . During the Truman visits , Cabinet members and foreign officials were regular visitors for fishing trips and poker games . Truman visited Key West shortly after his 1948 re - election and Division Street was renamed Truman Avenue in his honor . After Truman left office he returned to Key West several times and stayed at various other places . In 1948 - 49 General Dwight D . Eisenhower held a series of meetings that resulted in the creation of the Department of Defense . He returned in December 1955 and January 1956 as President to recuperate from a heart attack . John Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan held a one day summit here in March 1961 . President Kennedy made a second visit in 1962 immediately following the Cuban Missile Crisis . The house served as the Naval Station commandant ' s house until March 1974 , when the submarine base was closed due to the Navy ' s conversion from diesel to nuclear submarines . On February 12 of that year , it was added to the U . S . National Register of Historic Places . On January 1 , 1987 , it was deeded to the State of Florida and is held in trust as a public museum . Almost a million dollars restored the house to its 1949 appearance in 1990 . A 501 ( c ) 3 foundation is attempting to further the restoration and hold education conferences each Spring on Truman ' s impact upon today ' s society . In 1991 , the house opened as a state historic site & museum . Former President Jimmy Carter and family had a reunion here in 1996 . In April , 2001 , Secretary of State Colin Powell opened a week of OSCE peace talks , led by Minsk Group Co - Chairman Carey Cavanaugh between President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia and Heydar Aliyev of Azerbaijan . In January 2005 , former President Bill Clinton and his wife , then Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton , spent a weekend relaxing at the house .