WEST VIRGINIA (LOOTPRESS) – The C&O Desk is one of only six desks ever used by a sitting U.S. president in the Oval Office.
Originally built around 1920 for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), the desk has a long history of service in the White House.
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It was first used in the executive office by President George H.W. Bush and is currently being temporarily used by President Donald Trump while the Resolute Desk undergoes light refinishing.
Crafted by Rorimer-Brooks, the C&O Desk was one of four made for the owners of the C&O Railway.
Over the years, it moved through various locations in the White House. Clement Conger, who served as White House Curator, played a key role in securing the desk for government use.
Between 1969 and 1974, he convinced Hays T. Watkins of the Chessie System—C&O’s successor—to loan the desk to the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the U.S. Department of State.
By March 1975, it was moved to the Oval Office Study, where it was used by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan.
George H.W. Bush first used the desk in the Vice President’s office before relocating it to the White House Residence and eventually placing it in the Oval Office.
In 1987, CSX Corporation, which succeeded the Chessie System, officially donated the desk to the White House.
Today, a full-scale replica of Bush’s Oval Office, including a replica of the C&O Desk, is on display at the George Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas.
The C&O Railway, which once owned the desk, has deep ties to West Virginia.
The railway was vital to West Virginia’s economy, transporting coal from the state’s rich mines to national markets and fueling industrial growth.
The line ran east to west from White Sulphur Springs to Huntington in West Virginia but as a whole extended from Newport News to the midwest along with several branch lines.
Though the C&O Railway eventually merged with other rail companies, its legacy continues under CSX Transportation, which still operates routes across West Virginia today including the mainline between White Sulphur Springs and Huntington.
