This elegant Federal town house, built in 1808, was home to Cleveland Abbe (1838-1916), father of the United States Weather Bureau, from 1877 to 1909. The house had previously been home to James Monroe while he was Secretary of State and War under President James Madison, and then again for the first six months of his own presidency from March through September of 1817. Abbe purchased the house a few years after moving to Washington, DC, to assume the position of Assistant Chief to the Signal Officer and direct the establishment and growth of the United States Weather Bureau. Abbe, a meteorologist, had recognized that with the expansion of the telegraph system a central location could be established to collect meteorological data from around the country and determine weather patterns upon which to base weather predictions. He worked with the Associated Press to put his idea to work in 1871, and because of his success was asked to head a new government agency concerned with weather conditions. - NPS