Desk and Floor Markers

Bronze plaques, and one commemorative marker, in the floor of National Statuary Hall honor the eight members who served in the House of Representatives while it met here from 1819 to 1857 and also served as president of the United States.

Text of the Desk Plaques

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
MASSACHUSETTS
1831 - 1848
DESK LOCATION

JAMES BUCHANAN
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
PENNSYLVANIA
1821 - 1831
DESK LOCATION

MILLARD FILLMORE
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
NEW YORK
1833 - 1835     1837 - 1843
DESK LOCATION

ANDREW JOHNSON
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
TENNESSEE
1843 - 1853
DESK LOCATION

ABRAHAM LINCOLN
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
ILLINOIS
1847 - 1849
DESK LOCATION

FRANKLIN PIERCE
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
NEW HAMPSHIRE
1833 - 1837
DESK LOCATION

JAMES K. POLK
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
TENNESSEE
1825 - 1839
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
1835 - 1839
DESK LOCATION

JOHN TYLER
REPRESENTATIVE
FROM
VIRGINIA
1817 - 1821
DESK LOCATION

About the Markers

The first president honored with a marker was John Quincy Adams, who served in the House of Representatives after his term as sixth president had ended. On February 21, 1843, the 80-year-old statesman suffered a stroke at his desk in the Hall of the House shortly after participating in a vote. He was first carried to the door of the Rotunda for fresh air, which was found to be too chilly, and then brought to the Speaker's Room (now H-235, the Lindy Boggs Congressional Women's Reading Room), where he was treated by many doctors but remained unconscious until his death two days later. In 1888, 31 years after the House moved to its new chamber in the House Extension (1857), a commemorative marker in the form of a 4-inch bronze disc was installed in the floor.

In 1973, around the time of the partial restoration of the hall for the nation's bicentennial, the House passed a resolution authorizing nine new plaques. This number included one for Adams and one for William Henry Harrison; because Harrison's service occurred when the House was meeting in the Old Brick Capitol following the 1814 fire, no plaque was ultimately made for him. The plaque for Abraham Lincoln was placed during a ceremony held on August 1, 1974. The remaining seven were installed in 1979. After two decades of wear, all were replaced with new ones in 1999, and additional replacements were made in 2009.

The new plaques measure 7-1/2 inches square and have incised lettering with each member's name, state, and term of service in the House.

It is important to note that the placement of the plaques does not indicate that exact desk locations have been determined. Seating plans are not available for every Congress, and some members changed desks multiple times during their tenure. (Andrew Johnson, for example, sat in at least five locations.) Seating was reversed between 1832 and 1834 in an unsuccessful effort to solve the problem of echoes in the half-domed spaced. In some cases, seat locations were nearly beneath present-day statue pedestals. Finally, the present level marble floor dates only to 1864, when it was built over the former tiered well.