Everyone knows that George Washington was the father of our country, but how many know that he was also the father of the White House? When he took office, George was determined to build a fine home for future presidents of the new nation. He was involved in every step of the process, from selecting the location to figuring out how to get thousands of heavy bricks to the construction site. He even held a contest to choose the best design for the house. (Thomas Jefferson secretly entered the contest but lost.) George never got to live in his President's House, but every president since has called it home.