The White House remains a symbol of the United States, and the home of presidents since John Adams moved into the home in 1800. The house, of course, has been through its share of travails. It was burned down in 1814 during the war of 1812. But for more than 200 years the house had been home to presidents, site of official functions, and of course a center of governmental work of the Executive branch. It comes as no surprise then that the furniture, floors, carpets, windows – nearly everything, in fact – has been replaced a few times. And in 1882, a “fancy” but unexpected president decided to get rid of old furniture the old fashioned way: by selling it at public auction.