Edwin C. Littleton
Cite this Page
"Edwin C. Littleton," White House Workers History Project, White House Historical Association, 2026, https://whha.whirlihost.com/Detail/workers/748.
- Position
- Painter
- Years in President's House
- circa 1903 – 1940
- Legal Status
- Free Person
- Gender
- Male
- Race/Ethnicity
- White
- Biography
- Edwin Clay “Ed” Littleton was born in Washington, D.C. on June 26, 1873.1 Littleton spent his career as a painter for the federal government. Around 1903, he was assigned to the White House; he also worked on other federal painting projects such as the Washington Monument.2 Newspapers called him “the man who puts the white in the White House,” and stated he was “responsible for the marble whiteness of the president’s home.”3 A 1925 article wrote that he had become “boss painter” there. The article also noted that Edwin’s brother, John Littleton, worked as a White House painter.4 Edwin Littleton continued to work for the federal government through at least 1940 as chief painter for the Bureau of Public Buildings and Public Parks; he likely remained on assignment at the White House, though this cannot be confirmed at this time.5 Outside of work, Littleton was a Mason and a talented billiards player– according to the Washington Times Herald, he was “the pool shark of the District.” Littleton died on May 1, 1963, and was buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Suitland, Maryland.6
- “Edwin Clay Littleton,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/240209283/edwin-clay-littleton; Edwin T Littleton, 1930 United States Federal Census, Year: 1930; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Page: 7B; Enumeration District: 0281; FHL microfilm: 2340034, Ancestry.com.
- Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 696), 1023; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 1927), 968; Boyd’s District of Columbia Directory (R. L. Polk and Co., 1931), 1023; “Knot in Timber Caused Accident,” Rockingham Register (Harrisonburg, VA), October 13, 1905, pg. 2; “He Puts the White in the White House,” Fall River Globe (Fall River, MA), October 2, 1923, pg. 10.
- Ibid; “Latest News and Notes of Activities in the Realm of Local Society,” Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME), December 20, 1925, pg. 38.
- “Latest News and Notes of Activities in the Realm of Local Society,” Portland Press Herald (Portland, ME), December 20, 1925, pg. 38. Christmas 1930, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1930, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Employees on Duty at the Executive Office, 1929, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1929, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; White House Employees, 1932, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1932, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library; Xmas List 1931, Lou Henry Hoover Papers, Subject Files, White House Christmas 1931, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library.
- Edwin C Gittleton, 1940 United States Federal Census, Year: 1940; Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00567; Page: 8B; Enumeration District: 1-431, Ancestry.com.
- “Edwin Clay Littleton,” Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/240209283/edwin-clay-littleton; “Do You Remember,” Times Herald (Washington, D.C.), November 10, 1923, pg. 16.
- Birthplace
- Washington, D.C., USA
- Cedar Hill Cemetery