White House (plantation)

The White House was a late 17th-century plantation on the Pamunkey River near White House in New Kent County, Virginia. There were a total of three White Houses all built on the original pre-1700 foundation. The original White House Mansion was built by Colonel John Lightfoot III just before 1700 and while he was Counselor of State.

The White House Plantation was part of a large land holding that John Custis, father of Daniel Parke Custis, purchased from the family of John Lightfoot III. After John Custis died, he left the White House Plantation to his son Daniel Parke Custis, the first husband of Martha Dandridge Custis. The two would marry on May 15, 1750. Daniel Parke Custis would unexpectedly die in 1757, leaving the White House Plantation to his wife. After the death of her first husband, Martha Dandridge Custis would later meet George Washington and on January 6, 1759 would hold their wedding ceremony in one of the rooms of the White House Mansion.

Union troops stationed at the White House Plantation (of the Army of the Potomac) under the command of George B. McClellan, would burn the second White House to the ground on June 28, 1862, as they retreated during the Seven Days Battles. The third and final White House burned in 1880. The three White Houses collectively spanned over 180 years. The 2nd and 3rd iterations were smaller than the original White House Mansion.