Buchanan's Desk

If you go to the far corner of the lobby to the right of the Grand Staircase, you will see the desk used by President James Buchanan, our 15th president.

Buchanan was a young attorney from central Pennsylvania who spent nearly 30 summers here, includes his years as president. During his term from 1857 to 1861, the Bedford Springs was known as his Summer White House. The suite he stayed in (just above us) is now a meeting room.

This 1790 Sheraton letter-writing desk was crafted in cherry wood by Dr. John Anderson, the founder of the Springs.

As the story goes, when President Buchanan was to arrive at the Springs in 1857 for his first summer as president, the owners wanted to honor him, so they refurbished his suite and replaced this desk with a much grander one. When President Buchanan arrived, he was shocked to find that “his desk” was missing. He insisted that the original one be returned, so the staff had to retrieve it from the attic and put it back in the President’s suite. It is said that he would store an extra shirt in the desk drawer, allowing for a quick change before receiving visitors on a humid Pennsylvania summer afternoon!

As president, Buchanan was the only bachelor president.  He called upon his niece, Harriet Lane, to be his hostess while in the White House.  She often travelled with him to the Bedford Springs.  Our ladies’ store is named in her honor.

You might think that the picture on the desk is Harriet Lane, but it’s not. It is the young Queen Victoria, of whom we’ll speak later.

Please continue your tour.