The house, originally named "Walnut Grove," was very run-down when Tyler bought it, and Congress refused to pay him the allowance that was customary for upkeep of the White House, so Tyler had to pay for repairs at Sherwood Forest himself, and he did much of the work himself. Owners of the house who started restoring it in the mid-20th century started removing some home-made storm windows and then discovered from old records that Tyler had built them himself, so they kept them. One of the house's claims to fame is the length of the long, skinny ballroom Tyler had added to the house to accommodate the style of dancing popular then - what is today called "line dancing" but was then the "Virginia reel."