Message From Our Executive Director
Historic places preserve our past. Great museums help us understand what that past means today.
Welcome to the President Woodrow Wilson House.
When visitors walk through these rooms, they encounter more than the final home of America’s 28th president. They enter a place where history serves as a catalyst for conversation, reflection, and discovery.
As Executive Director, I believe historic sites have a unique responsibility to preserve the past while helping us better understand the present. The Wilson House embraces that responsibility by presenting history honestly, thoughtfully, and through multiple perspectives. Our goal is not simply to commemorate history. It is to encourage visitors to engage with the past, ask meaningful questions, and consider how history continues to shape our nation and our world.
Over the past several years, the Wilson House has evolved beyond a traditional presidential museum into a place where history, diplomacy, preservation, and civic engagement intersect. Moving Toward Transparency: Wilson’s Legacy at 100 invited visitors to examine the many dimensions of Woodrow Wilson’s presidency through multiple perspectives. Building on that work, Wilson’s Washington, America’s Struggle: Race and Civil Liberties in the Capital explores life in the nation’s capital during the Wilson years through the experiences of African Americans, immigrants, women, labor leaders, military service members, and others whose stories reveal the complexities of a rapidly changing America.
Education is central to our mission. Through our Speaker Series, the Marder Vaughn Civics Lessons, the Wilson House Scholars Program, guided tours, and educational partnerships, we connect people of all ages with the ideas, debates, and historical events that continue to influence civic life today.
Our annual Fashioning Power, Fashioning Peace exhibition has transformed the Wilson House into an international gathering place, bringing together embassies, diplomats, designers, business leaders, and visitors from around the world to celebrate cultural diplomacy and international understanding. It reflects our belief that historic places can serve not only as stewards of the past, but also as conveners of meaningful conversations in the present.
Preservation remains at the heart of everything we do. As stewards of this National Trust for Historic Preservation site, we are committed to protecting the Wilson House for future generations. Our upcoming preservation and infrastructure improvements, including the installation of a modern climate control system, represent a significant investment in safeguarding the historic house, its collections, and the stories entrusted to our care.
The President Woodrow Wilson House is more than a museum. It is a place where history inspires inquiry, preservation protects our shared heritage, diplomacy builds understanding, and civic education prepares future generations to engage thoughtfully with the challenges of their own time.
Whether you visit for a tour, attend a lecture, explore an exhibition, participate in an educational program, or support our mission, I hope you will leave with a deeper appreciation for the power of history to inform our future.
Thank you for your interest in the President Woodrow Wilson House. We look forward to welcoming you.
Warm regards,
Elizabeth Karcher
Executive Director
President Woodrow Wilson House