Discover the rich heritage of “the People's House” and its central role in U.S. history since 1789. Explore its unique story and the men and women who have shaped it. Browse its collections. Access historical data and other research resources.
Without evidence, such as records, important pieces of information are lost to history. How many times have you read or listened to a fascinating story that started with the words, “Recently discovered records revealed that . . . ”? Although the Antiques Roadshow–style discovery of a rare collection of documents in a dumpster is unusual, occasionally great finds are made in dark, dusty corners of long-forgotten spaces.
Early in the afternoon on Saturday, July 20, 1912, more than 100 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, all of them Democrats, got off the train in Sea Girt, New Jersey, and walked down the dusty road toward Woodrow Wilson’s summer cottage. Wilson had recently accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, and he’d been entertaining political visits at his seaside home ever since.
This site is a collaborative project between the Office of the Historian and the Clerk of the House's Office of Art and Archives. The offices preserve, collect, and interpret the heritage of the U.S. House, serving as the institution’s memory and a resource for Members, staff, and the general public.