Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Visitor Center (Hyde Park, New York)
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The National Historic Site was established in 1945.
While the early history of the house on the Springwood estate remains unclear, it is believed that the central portion of the present-day home is formed by a large Federal style farmhouse constructed around the year 1800. In 1845 the estate was purchased by Josiah Wheeler, a merchant from New York City. He remodeled the structure in the then-fashionable Italianate style, expanding it to 15 rooms with a three-story tower at the south end and front and rear piazzas spanning the length of the home.
In 1866 the estate, which had been reduced to approximately one square mile, was bought by James Roosevelt, Sr., Franklin D. Roosevelt's father, for $40,000, at a time when a textile worker's earnings were less than a dollar a day. Through his death 34 years later in 1900 James made many improvements to the home and property. He enlarged the servants' wing, adding two rooms, and had a spacious carriage house built in the vicinity.
In 1882 Franklin was born in what was then the second floor tower bedroom at the south end of the home. At the time, it functioned as the master bedroom; the bedroom which he, and later his sons, used during boyhood is nearby on the same floor. In 1905, after he and Eleanor Roosevelt married, the young couple moved in with his mother, Sara. The estate remained the center of Roosevelt's life in all stages of his career.
In 1915 Franklin, together with his mother, undertook a final major enlargement and remodeling of the home. This both accommodated his growing family and created an environment suitable for entertaining political associates which reflected his ambitions. Roosevelt contributed many ideas for the new design, tempered by his mother's means.
During his presidency from March 4, 1933, until his death on April 12, 1945, Franklin made almost 200 visits to Springwood, although he eventually built Top Cottage nearby as a home of his own, separate from his mother's. The main estate functioned as a "Summer White House" where the President hosted his political associates and other prominent national and international figures.
Roosevelt made his last visit to Springwood in the last week of March 1945, about two weeks before his death at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. At his own wish he was buried near the sundial in the Rose Garden on April 15, 1945. His wife was buried at his side after her death in 1962.
In 1943—two years before he died in office—Roosevelt donated the estate to the American people under the condition that his family maintained a lifetime right to usage of the property. On November 21, 1945, after the family had relinquished their rights, the estate was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Since then, the estate has been administered by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site and is open to the public.
Springwood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt_Natio...
Hyde Park is a charming little hamlet located in the Town of Hyde Park in central western Dutchess County on the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. It is well known as the hometown of the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Visitor Center (Hyde Park, New York)
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The National Historic Site was established in 1945.
While the early history of the house on the Springwood estate remains unclear, it is believed that the central portion of the present-day home is formed by a large Federal style farmhouse constructed around the year 1800. In 1845 the estate was purchased by Josiah Wheeler, a merchant from New York City. He remodeled the structure in the then-fashionable Italianate style, expanding it to 15 rooms with a three-story tower at the south end and front and rear piazzas spanning the length of the home.
In 1866 the estate, which had been reduced to approximately one square mile, was bought by James Roosevelt, Sr., Franklin D. Roosevelt's father, for $40,000, at a time when a textile worker's earnings were less than a dollar a day. Through his death 34 years later in 1900 James made many improvements to the home and property. He enlarged the servants' wing, adding two rooms, and had a spacious carriage house built in the vicinity.
In 1882 Franklin was born in what was then the second floor tower bedroom at the south end of the home. At the time, it functioned as the master bedroom; the bedroom which he, and later his sons, used during boyhood is nearby on the same floor. In 1905, after he and Eleanor Roosevelt married, the young couple moved in with his mother, Sara. The estate remained the center of Roosevelt's life in all stages of his career.
In 1915 Franklin, together with his mother, undertook a final major enlargement and remodeling of the home. This both accommodated his growing family and created an environment suitable for entertaining political associates which reflected his ambitions. Roosevelt contributed many ideas for the new design, tempered by his mother's means.
During his presidency from March 4, 1933, until his death on April 12, 1945, Franklin made almost 200 visits to Springwood, although he eventually built Top Cottage nearby as a home of his own, separate from his mother's. The main estate functioned as a "Summer White House" where the President hosted his political associates and other prominent national and international figures.
Roosevelt made his last visit to Springwood in the last week of March 1945, about two weeks before his death at the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia. At his own wish he was buried near the sundial in the Rose Garden on April 15, 1945. His wife was buried at his side after her death in 1962.
In 1943—two years before he died in office—Roosevelt donated the estate to the American people under the condition that his family maintained a lifetime right to usage of the property. On November 21, 1945, after the family had relinquished their rights, the estate was transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Since then, the estate has been administered by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site and is open to the public.
Springwood was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.
Information from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_of_Franklin_D._Roosevelt_Natio...
Hyde Park is a charming little hamlet located in the Town of Hyde Park in central western Dutchess County on the Hudson River north of Poughkeepsie. It is well known as the hometown of the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt.