Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt

“Life here had always had healing quality for him.” —Eleanor Roosevelt National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior “My heart has always been here. It always will be.” With these few words President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) captured his feelings for his home in Hyde Park as he addressed friends and neighbors gathered in front of the house on election night in 1940. His love of the place where he was born and raised prompted him to begin the process in 1943 of deeding his home to the National Park Service, ensuring that it would be available to future generations. Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site New York I am pure Hudson River —FDR, 1944 Franklin’s father, James Roosevelt, purchased the 110-acre estate in 1867 for $40,000. The property included a house overlooking the Hudson River and a working farm. FDR was born in this house on January 30, 1882, the only child of Sara and James Roosevelt. Growing up with a view of the majestic Hudson River, he developed a love of the river and the valley through which it flowed. By age eight, he was sailing the Hudson. As a young adult, racing his ice yacht “Hawk” was a favorite winter pastime. Franklin accompanied his father on daily horseback rides. During these times he became immersed in the land, its history, and particularly the trees. In later years, he expanded his parents’ land holdings to nearly 1,500 acres and planted over half a million trees. His interest in tree farming translated into a New Deal program, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). The CCC provided jobs to unemployed men age 17-28. Over 10 years, enrollees planted over three billion trees and built over 800 parks nationwide. Surrounded by the rich agricultural heritage of the Hudson Valley all his life, FDR felt a strong affinity with farmers. One of the first New Deal programs instituted during the Great Depression, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, was designed to help farmers retain their land. His subsistence homestead projects relocated poverty-stricken families into government subsidized rural communities that provided decent housing, cooperative work and farming, and schools. In 1932 FDR was elected to the first of an unprecedented four terms as President of the United States. His presidency redefined the role of government in America, establishing programs designed to improve the lives of all Americans. These programs included Social Security, the Federal Deposit and Insurance Corporation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the establishment of minimum wage, and unemployment insurance. Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt lovely eems to itting s n FDR’s k now and 1882 Born Jan. 30 to James 1914 Loses Democratic 1927 Forms Georgia Warm 1900 Graduates from Gro- 1918 Tours American bases in Europe; ER discovers FDR’s affair with her social secretary, Lucy Mercer. 1928 Elected NYS governor. ton Preparatory School. 1903 Graduates from Har- vard College. I wish I 1904 Starts Columbia University Law School. could be 1905 Marries Eleanor Roos- there. SPRINGWOOD PHOTO NPS —Letter to parents evelt (ER), in New York City; ER’s uncle, President Theodore Roosevelt, gives her away. 1906 ER gives birth to their first child, a daughter; five sons born over next 10 years; one dies in infancy. 1907 Admitted to NY Bar Association; clerks in a NYC law firm. 1910 Elected to first of two terms in New York State Senate; re-elected 1912. 1913 President Woodrow Wilson names FDR Assistant Secretary of the Navy. FDR enjoys driving on his property when at home. ft ood. Le pringw S , t rt a a g rh inin elia Ea Enterta nor, Am and FDR. a le E t: to righ ollison, Amy M Jim and On the afternoon of April 12, 1945, FDR died from a cerebral hemorrhage in Warm Springs, Georgia. He was laid to rest on April 15 in the rose garden here. One year after his death, on April 12, 1946, the home opened to the public. At the dedication Eleanor Roosevelt said, “I think Franklin realized that . . . people . . . would understand the rest and peace and strength which he had gained here and perhaps . . . go away with some sense of healing and courage themselves.” ses on FDR po perty. ro p his The Life and Times of FDR must be During his 12 years as President, FDR led the nation through an economic crisis of enormous proportions and the Second World War. He continually returned to this home he loved, seeking strength and relaxation. He entertained foreign dignitaries here, including British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. In the small study, FDR and Churchill initialed a document known as the “Hyde Park Aide Memoire,” that outlined possible future uses of the atomic bomb. FDR and Eleanor Young FDR rides with his father while his mother holds the hound. Roosevelt and Sara (Delano) Roosevelt in their Hyde Park, NY family home. FDR contracted polio in 1921 and was paralyzed from the waist down. He held out hope for a cure, but was never able to walk again unaided. The multi-level home was adapted to his needs with ramps along short steps. The trunk lift, installed years before the onset of FDR’s polio, became his transportation to the second floor. When Franklin Roosevelt married Eleanor Roosevelt in 1905, they resided in both the house at Hyde Park h sled wit his bob g. o d r FDR on e th nd ano ”Tip” a The River and their New York townhouse. Franklin and Eleanor had six children, one died in infancy. FDR supervised the expansion and redesign of the house to accommodate his growing family and his political ambitions, ensuring it reflected the Dutch Colonial architecture of the Hudson Valley. primary for US Senate seat; World War I starts. 1920 Resigns Navy post; loses election as Democratic candidate for vice president. 1921 Returns to law work; stricken with polio at Campobello Island, New Brunswick, Canada; never again walks unaided; ER cares for him. 1923 Delegate to NYS Democratic Convention. 1924 Nominates NY Gov. Alfred E. Smith for president at Democratic National Convention; first visit to curative waters at Warm Springs, GA. 1925 Oversees construction of Val-Kill Cottage (now Stone Cottage) for ER and friends Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook; the three start Val-Kill Industries in 1927 to create skilled crafts jobs in slack farm season to help stem the flight of rural youth to cities. 1926 First book, Whither Bound, published. Springs Foundation, a therapy center for polio patients. 1929 NY Stock Exchange crash triggers Great Depression in US; advocates statebuilt and -owned dams and power plants; first radio address attacks Republican Party failures; visits state prison after riot, orders investigation of NY prisons. 1930 Seeks better laws for running prisons and to create a full-time parole board; wins re-election as governor. 1931 Seeks revised Old Age Pension Law based on employee contributions; Louis M. Howe and James A. Farley form “Friends of Roosevelt” to promote FDR for president; seeks “scientific unemployment insurance;” recommends a Temporary Emergency Relief Administration and work relief program; seeks votes for funds to reforest sub-marginal farmland. amuse Eleanor. FDR sails his ice yacht ”Hawk.” 1932 Seeks to halt unsound banking practices; seeks laws to reform securities sales; gives “forgotten man” speech to Governors’ Conference; as Democratic nominee for president, FDR pledges “a new deal for the American people”; elected 32nd US president. 1933 Assassination attempt fails; inaugurated president, tells nation “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself;” calls special session of Congress the next day and proclaims bank holiday; launches New Deal with 15 new laws to relieve Great Depression; first of 29 radio Fireside Chats. 1935 Continues New Deal; signs Social Security Act; sets up National Labor Relations Board and Rural Electrification Administration. 1936 Elected to second term. 1938 Starts March of Dimes campaign to fight polio; signs Fair Labor Standards Act setting minimum wages and maximum hours. 1939 FDR and ER host Great Britain’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth for first US state visit by British royalty; treats them to Top Cottage hotdog picnic in Hyde Park. 1940 Elected to an unprecedented third term. 1941 State of the Union Address enunciates the Four Freedoms: of speech and of worship, and from want and from fear; meets British Prime Minister Winston Churchill Left to right: Sara, FDR, Sistie, Anna, and Buzzie at Springwood. aboard ship in “Atlantic Conference” on joint war aims, the first of 12 Allied wartime conferences; Japan bombs Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, “a date which will live in infamy.” 1942 Signs United Nations (UN) Declaration Jan. 1, commits US to defeat of Axis powers; 45 other nations sign, in effect founding modern UN; announces intent to try as war criminals ringleaders for the organized murder of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust; signs Executive Order 9066 sending 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to relocation and/or internment camps. 1944 Sets up War Refugee Board to help those fleeing Nazi persecution in Europe; radio address announces start of Allied invasion of Europe; offers D-Day prayer for success and protection of soldiers. 1945 Inaugurated to fourth term in White House wartime ceremony; meets Churchill and the USSR’s Joseph Stalin for Yalta Conference to negotiate Europe’s postwar future; dies in Warm Springs, GA, April 12; buried in Rose Garden here; President Truman appoints ER to US delegation to UN. Programs during Roosevelt’s administration gave the American people the dignity of work and hope. ALL PHOTOS FDR PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY UNLESS OTHERWISE CREDITED H RIVE UDSON R 9 E NT RANCE Parking Bellefield Henry A. Wallace Visitor Center Gardener’s cottage Greenhouse Coach house and Stables Rose garden Gravesite Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and Museum Springwood tour of FDR’s home, visit the museum, and stroll the grounds, gardens, and trails. CAUTION Stay on trails in woods to avoid poison ivy and ticks. ACCESSIBILITY We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. For information go to the visitor center, ask a ranger, call, or check our website. 0 1 Mile Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site North 41 E a s t Mar Hyde Park Trail ter. Enjoy the introductory film, join a guided 1 Kilometer Crum Elbow t ket S Hyde Park Rd To 16 and Taconic State Parkway 9G 9 Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site Haviland Wallace Center MORE INFORMATION Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site 4097 Albany Post Road Hyde Park, NY 12538 www.nps.gov/hofr 845-229-9115 Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site This is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. Learn more about national parks and National Park Service programs in America’s communities at www.nps.gov. Springwood (Home of FDR) To Poughkeepsie and 84 Top Cottage ✩GPO:20xx—xxx-xxx/xxxxx New in 20xx Printed on recycled paper. To Poughkeepsie 9 OUR PARTNERS Roosevelt-Vanderbilt Historical Association www.rooseveltvanderbilt.org FDR Presidential Library/Museum www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu Beatrix Farrand Garden Association www.beatrixfarrandgardenhydepark.org MAP ART BY POWER ENGINEERS FDR Presidential Library and Museum 40A NEARBY ATTRACTIONS (see map at left) Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site ROAD the Henry A. Wallace Visitor and Education Cen- Individual reservations: 1-877444-6777 or www.recreation.gov. Group reservations: 1-877-5596777 or www.recreation.gov. School groups call 845-486-7751. 0 POST joint admission fee is offered. Start your visit at To Rhinebeck ANY Museum, operated by the National Archives. A To Rhinebeck ALB of FDR, and the FDR Presidential Library and Bard Rock RIVER This site contains Springwood, the lifelong home FOR INFORMATION on hours, fees, and tour times call 845-2295320 or check our website at www.nps.gov/hofr. House visits are by guided tour only. HUDSON Welcome to the home of Franklin D. Roosevelt.