The Cutts-Madison House

Posted: 03.25.2025 | Updated: 03.25.2025

Located just a five-minute walk from the White House, the historic Cutts-Madison House is a classic colonial home overlooking Lafayette Square. With its soft yellow exterior and green shutters, there is a friendliness about the house. 

It’s not even the type of house you’d think would be haunted, but that’s not the case. One of the most famous first ladies is said to haunt the Cutts-Madison House nearly 200 years after her death.

Washington, DC is one of the most haunted cities in the United States. You can learn all about the haunted history of our nation’s capitol by booking a ghost tour with DC Ghosts today!

Who Haunts The Cutts-Madison House?

By all accounts, First Lady Dolley Madison is the ghost in residence at the Cutts-Madison House. After all, it is partially named after her and often referred to as the “Dolley Madison House.” 

There is also more than a century’s worth of sightings of the first lady sitting on the porch of her home. Those who encounter Dolley’s apparition confirm that she is still a hospitable host, although there is one report of her spirit scaring off two workmen. As long as you don’t move her things, you’ll be fine.

History of The Cutts-Madison House

The Cutts-Madison House was constructed in 1818 by Richard Cutts for him and his wife Anna to live in. The house was made of white stucco and featured an expansive front porch facing Lafayette Square.

A decade later in 1828, Cutts sold the house to former president James Madison and his wife, Dolley. When President Madison died in 1836, Dolley turned the home into her primary residence. 

During her time in the home, Dolley continued to be a gracious host. She invited numerous presidents to the house including James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, Williams Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, and Zachary Taylor.

After Dolley died in 1849, the house passed through several owners before being purchased by the Cosmos Club in 1886. The Cosmos Club was a gentlemen’s club, and they made significant improvements to the home, including the installation of electricity and several additions. In 1952, they sold the Cutts-Madison House to the US government.

In the 1960s, several historic homes surrounding Lafayette Square were razed to make way for modern buildings. The Cutts-Madison House was scheduled to be demolished, but it was saved thanks to several members of Congress and then-First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Jackie Kennedy also worked with architects to design new buildings that blended in with the historic architecture of Lafayette Square, rather than the modernist buildings that had been planned.

Today, the Cutts-Madison House functions as chambers and offices for the US Court of Federal Claims and the US Court of Appeals.

Dolley Madison

Dolley Madison is arguably the most famous person to ever live in the Cutts-Madison House. Anna Payne Cutts, wife of Richard Cutts, was Dolley’s sister. Before marrying James Madison, Dolley had seen great hardship, having witnessed her husband and child die on the same day from Yellow Fever as she, too, fought the illness.

James and Dolley married in 1794 and James Madison was inaugurated as the fourth president of the United States in 1809. During his eight years in office, Dolley threw festive parties at the White House known as “squeezers” because so many people were in attendance.

Dolley Madison is perhaps best known for saving a portrait of George Washington when the British set fire to the White House in 1814. She was also the first wife of a president to be called the “First Lady.”

Dolley’s Madison’s spirit lives on both figuratively and literally in Washington, DC.

Hauntings At The Cutts-Madison House

Since the late 1800s, people have reported an unknown woman sitting in a rocking chair on the expansive side porch of the Cutts-Madison House overlooking Lafayette Square. During the house’s time as the Cosmo Club, men leaving late at night would tip their hats to the shadowy woman who seemed to perpetually rock on the side porch. Those lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the woman could have sworn it was First Lady Dolley Madison.

Dolley Madison’s ghost has continually been spotted in her rocking chair on the side porch, taking in the views of a city that has changed significantly since her time there as a living person. Sometimes, her favorite rocking chair is seen rocking by itself, but those who know about the haunting are certain it’s not the wind moving the chair.

Dolley Madison has been seen inside her beloved home as well. The first floor of the Cutts-Madison House has been preserved as it would have looked during Dolley’s lifetime. Her ghost has been spotted wandering through these rooms as if inspecting them to ensure everything is just as she would want it. 

Dolley Madison’s Traveling Ghost

Dolley Madison left her mark on Washington, DC in life and she continues to do so in death. Unlike most spirits, her ghost isn’t bound to the Cutts-Madison House. The ghost of Dolley Madison has been reported at the nearby Octagon House and the White House as well. 

After British soldiers set the White House on fire, James and Dolley Madison lived in the nearby Octagon House. Although Dolley reportedly never liked the house, her ghost has been seen near the ballroom fireplace and in the garden out back. Sightings of Dolley are often accompanied by the scent of lilacs, which were her favorite flower.

At the White House, her spirit appeared in the Rose Garden just as two employees were about to dig it up at the request of then-First Lady Edith Wilson. The men were so terrified by the site of Dolley’s imposing spirit that they refused to move the Rose Garden. Even in death, Dolley Madison still held sway over Washington, DC.

Haunted Washington, DC

Despite the many changes the Cutts-Madison House has seen over the past three centuries, the ghost of Dolley Madison remains steadfast as part of its history. Those who pass by the house should remember to tip their hat if they see a woman on the porch sitting in her rocking chair.

Washington, DC is full of stories of chilling hauntings and charming ghosts such as Dolley Madison. The Cutts-Madison is one of the dozens of historic sites you can learn about during a ghost tour of the nation’s capital. Remember to book a ghost tour with DC Ghosts for your next trip! Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and keep reading our blog for more real Washington, DC hauntings.

Sources: 

• https://seeksghosts.blogspot.com/2011/07/ghost-of-dolley-madison.html
• https://www.whitehousehistory.org/dolley-madison-house-on-lafayette-square
• https://www.whitehousehistory.org/bios/dolley-madison