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Introduction
In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson (1743 -1826), in a move to make his new home more livable, gave orders for the demolition of the outdoor
wooden privy at the White House. The privy served along with chamber pots as the sole means of waste disposal at the White House. In place of the
wooden privy, the President asked his Architect, Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764 -1820),1 to have two water closets installed upstairs; one on each end
of the house.
Thomas Jefferson (our third President) had a life long love of new ideas and inventions.2 In the White House, Jefferson also had a wine cellar built just
west of the house and called it an "icehouse." Additionally, Jefferson had Latrobe make changes to many of the fireplaces; including equipping the kitchen
with its first iron range fitted to the existing firebox, and adding hob-grates for coal to several others. A call bell system was installed for summoning servants,
and artificial light came in part from "patent" oil lamps that featured innovative Argand burners. On the outside of the building, lead and wood gutters were
replaced with iron ones.3 Latrobe had Washington Navy Yard (WNY) Master Black Smith and Head Plummer, Benjamin King (1779-1837),4
build and do the actual installation of the new water closets and iron gutters.
Latrobe early in his acquaintance with Benjamin King perceived him as "a mechanic of uncommon merit." As he became more familiar with Benjamin King,
Latrobe noted that the Master Black Smith was "not unacquainted with Belles Letters but his oddity renders him a troublesome Man to manage." In
August 1804, Latrobe received a letter from John Lenthall (1762-1808), his assistant and Clerk of the Works for the U S. Capitol, informing Latrobe that
the installation of plumbing on the White House and other projects which Benjamin King was responsible for were falling behind schedule and that
President Jefferson was displeased. In his reply, Latrobe wrote Lenthall with candor:
"King is as you say a bag of wind as to promises. I have reason to know it. I saw him here a fortnight ago. He gave me an order for round iron, and we
went to considerable trouble to prepare to manufacture it. Since then we have not heard a word as to the quantity or the dimensions. He is one of those
who are good when necessity forces them to work and good for nothing when necessity ceases. It will do him good to receive a lecture from me on the
subject of his neglects. I will write to him stating the dissatisfaction of the President U.S."5
The letter Latrobe wrote to Benjamin King is transcribed below for the first time. Latrobe's letter was written that same day as his letter to John Lenthall
and gives some indication of Latrobe and King's working relationship. In his letter we also see how Latrobe attempted to cajole King to complete the
presidential water closet. Latrobe's letter also provides a rare glimpse of how workmen from the Washington Navy Yard were temporarily reassigned to
work at the U.S. Capitol and the White House, a practice that severely tried the patience of WNY's first Commandant, Commodore Thomas Tingey.6
Years later, President Jefferson, remembered Benjamin King's work at the White House and at the Washington Navy Yard with no apparent ill will.
http://www.genealogytrails.com/washdc/presidential/jeffersonletterstoking.html
Beyond Latrobe's letter there are neither surviving records nor depictions of the 1804 White House water closet; however it appears to have been
eventually completed to President Jefferson's satisfaction.7
Over time, King and Latrobe's day to day working relationship continued to deteriorate. By 1811, Benjamin King appeared before a congressional
committee and accused Latrobe of wasting government funds with his new steam engine at the Navy Yard. Latrobe responded to Congressman
John Randolph who headed the Naval Committee, that Benjamin King was "more a fool then a rogue yet he is a dangerous man" and Latrobe
unsuccessfully urged King be court marshaled.8
Benjamin King continued to work at the Navy Yard for the next three decades. Many of his contemporaries admired his skill and abilities but he
remained "a troublesome Man to manage." Kings last years were not happy ones. His difficulty of getting on with his superiors and his inability to
complete his work assignments as promised, led to his reduction to a non-supervisory tradesman job. Benjamin Latrobe also had problems, as the
federal government continually cut his budget, he became frustrated with his own superiors in the District, left Washington, D.C. and moved on to
other important architectural assignments as the United States first professional architect. He died in New Orleans in 1820.
Transcription
This transcription was made from the
Microfilm Edition of the Papers of Benjamin Henry Latrobe edited by Thomas E. Jeffrey, Clifton, N.J.
Letter to Benjamin King dated 5 August 1804LB (34/C4). In transcribing this letter I have striven to adhere as closely as possible to the original in
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and in abbreviation, including the retention of dashes found in the original. Benjamin Latrobe was a fine writer
but when agitated or writing in haste his hand writing can be difficult to decipher. This transcription was made from the Latrobe"s letter book copy.
John G. Sharp 26 June 2008
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