Conrad Fuss
Cite this Page
"Conrad Fuss," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/711.
- Positions
- Gardener
- Florist
- Years in President's House
- circa 1918 – 1939
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Conrad Fuss was born in Germany on February 18, 1874. (1) He immigrated to the United States in 1898, and became a naturalized citizen in 1908. (2) Around 1918, he began working as a florist in the White House Greenhouses, located on the National Mall near the Washington Monument. (3) These greenhouses grew plants for use on the White House Grounds and for White House events under the supervision of Head Gardener Charles Henlock. (4)
Fuss worked at the White House for decades. A 1937 newspaper report about the greenhouses highlighted his expertise: “...Conrad Fuss is in his element. He has had charge of the Easter lilies, as well as the poinsettias and ‘Mums’ for years at the Executive greenhouses…As the critical time approaches, Mr. Fuss can be seen puttering around his charges with a hawklike gaze. He waters. He scrutinizes the blooms and he watches the thermometer and sloshes around with the watering hose in a big way.” (5)
Fuss retired from his horticultural work with National Capital Parks in 1939. (6) He died on April 17, 1957, and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Maryland. (7) - (1) “Conrad Fuss,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97049341/conrad-fuss; Conrad Fuss in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: District of Columbia; Registration County: Washington, Ancestry.com.
(2) Conrad Tress in the 1920 United States Federal Census, Year: 1920; Census Place: Washington, Washington, District of Columbia; Roll: T625_206; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 59, Ancestry.com.
(3) Prior to 1918, city directories and census data lists Fuss’s occupation as “waiter” or “caterer.” However, his obituary suggests he continued this job part-time throughout his life, so it is difficult to know exactly when he joined the White House staff. Conrad Fuss in the U.S., World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918, Registration State: District of Columbia; Registration County: Washington, Ancestry.com; Boyd’s Directory of the District of Columbia (R. L. Polk and Co., 1917), pg. 487; “Conrad Fuss, Horticulturalist,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 18, 1957, pg. 18, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045462/1957-04-18/ed-1/.
(4) “Washington, The City Beautiful,” Kearney Hub (Nebraska), July 21, 1920, pg. 4.
(5) A. G. West, “President and First Lady Remember Their Friends With Flowers on Eastertide,” Washington Post, March 28, 1937, pg. F5.
(6) “Conrad Fuss, Horticulturalist,” Evening Star (Washington, D.C.), April 18, 1957, pg. 18, Chronicling America, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn83045462/1957-04-18/ed-1/.
(7) Ibid; “Conrad Fuss,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97049341/conrad-fuss. - Birthplace
- Germany