C&O desk

The C&O desk is one of six desks ever used in the Oval Office by a sitting President of the United States. George H. W. Bush was the only president with the C&O desk as his desk of choice. Prior to its use in the Oval Office by Bush, the desk had been used elsewhere in the White House. It is the shortest-serving Oval Office desk to date, having been permanently used for one four-year term.

Built around 1920, the C&O desk is one of four desks built for the owners of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) by Rorimer-Brooks. Following a series of railway mergers, Clement Conger convinced Hays T. Watkins of the Chessie System to loan the desk to the Diplomatic Reception Rooms at the United States Department of State at some point between 1969 and 1974. Conger later became White House Curator. In March 1975, he had the desk moved to the Oval Office Study. It was used in this room by Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. In 1987, the C&O desk was donated by Chessie System's successor CSX Corporation to the White House, making it a part of the White House collection.

George H. W. Bush first had the C&O desk moved his office in the White House, then the Executive Residence, and finally the Oval Office. All presidents since then have used the Resolute desk as their chosen Oval Office desk, although Donald Trump temporarily used the C&O desk from February to March 2025 while the Resolute desk was being refurbished.

The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum, in College Station, Texas, houses a full-scale replica of the Oval Office, including a replica of the C&O desk.