Description

During World War I, President Woodrow Wilson had flocks of sheep on the White House lawn. Although previous presidents had kept farm animals as pets, these sheep were part of a Presidential initiative to support the war effort. The sheep grazed on lawns as a way of lowering groundskeeping costs. When the sheep were sheared, their wool was auctioned off to help raise money for the Red Cross, totaling $52,823 by the end of the war.

Date

1917

Coverage

1890-1919

Source

National Archives, via Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. View original.