Sadly, October 16, 1906 Varina Howell Davis died of pneumonia. Her daughter, Margaret Davis Hayes had the sad duty of disposing of Mrs. Davis's personal possessions. She offered many family pieces to the White House Association. Later the Association would receive the bed in which Mrs. Davis died, and other furniture from her room at the Majestic Hotel in New York.
By 1910 the WHA consisted of 167 Alabamians whose purpose was to raise money to move the First White House to another location. Meanwhile, the First White House remained entailed property, continuing as a boarding house and falling into disrepair.
There is even a story that a hack driver at Union Station, when asked by people waiting between trains to take them to see the FWH of the Confederacy, was so ashamed of its appearance (three blocks away) that he took tourists out Madison Avenue on the edge of Montgomery and showed them instead the magnificent "Houghton" house!
More to the story: Please "stay tuned".
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