During WWI, sheep grazed the White House lawn to save on labor.

  • Sheep graze on White House lawn, 1919
Sheep graze on White House lawn, 1919
Credit: Miscellaneous Items in High Demand/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-11417)
Author Nicole Villeneuve

June 11, 2026

Love it?

After the United States entered World War I in 1917, labor and resources were redirected toward the military, and maintaining ornamental landscaping became a low priority. So President Woodrow Wilson allowed a flock of 18 sheep to graze the White House grounds to keep the lawn trimmed.

It wasn’t all for practicality’s sake — Wilson’s sheep were meant to reflect a broader wartime message of civic duty and conservation. Men were conscripted into military service, and civilians were urged to conserve food and fuel as a patriotic duty. Wilson and his wife, Edith, also scaled back on hosting at the White House, and occasionally rode in a carriage instead of an automobile to save on fuel. The sheep’s wool was regularly sheared and auctioned off for charity, eventually raising more than $50,000 for both the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.

The sheep quickly became part of daily life on the grounds, and over time, the flock grew well beyond its original number, expanding to 48 animals. They proved an impactful symbol and remained on the lawn even after the war ended. But by August 1920, the experiment had run its course. The flock had outgrown the White House grounds, and the animals were sold and returned primarily to the Maryland farm they came from.

By the Numbers

Did you know?

Meatless Mondays started as a wartime conservation effort.

Meatless Monday is a modern habit where people aim to skip eating meat one day a week, usually as a way to consider more plant-based foods for health or environmental reasons. While it feels like a fairly recent wellness trend, its roots actually stretch back more than a century.

During World War I, the U.S. Food Administration, led by Herbert Hoover, encouraged households to reduce consumption of meat, wheat, and other staples. Rather than formal rationing, Americans were asked to observe voluntary “Meatless Tuesdays” and “Wheatless Wednesdays.” The campaign was widely adopted and even revived during World War II. It was later relaunched as a modern movement in 2003, when advertising executive Sid Lerner, inspired by the World War I initiative, came up with the much catchier “Meatless Mondays” as a way to help people reduce meat and saturated fat in their diet.

x