"ELROmediapic1" by NPS/Bill Urbin , public domain
Eleanor RooseveltNational Historic Site - New York |
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site commemorates the life and accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt. Once part of the larger Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York, today the property includes the 181 acres (73 ha), buildings and other historic features that Eleanor Roosevelt called Val-Kill. It is located approximately two miles east of Springwood, the Franklin D. Roosevelt home.
Eleanor Roosevelt created and shared Val-Kill with her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. At Val-Kill, they established Val-Kill Industries to employ local farming families in handcraft traditions. The Roosevelts frequently used Val-Kill's relaxed setting for entertaining family, friends, political associates, and world leaders.
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Map of the U.S. National Park System. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
Map of the U.S. National Park System with Unified Regions. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
Map of the U.S. National Heritage Areas. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
https://www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleanor_Roosevelt_National_Historic_Site
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site commemorates the life and accomplishments of Eleanor Roosevelt. Once part of the larger Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York, today the property includes the 181 acres (73 ha), buildings and other historic features that Eleanor Roosevelt called Val-Kill. It is located approximately two miles east of Springwood, the Franklin D. Roosevelt home.
Eleanor Roosevelt created and shared Val-Kill with her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman. At Val-Kill, they established Val-Kill Industries to employ local farming families in handcraft traditions. The Roosevelts frequently used Val-Kill's relaxed setting for entertaining family, friends, political associates, and world leaders.
Visit the home of Eleanor Roosevelt. Here, Franklin and Eleanor entertained friends, the press, activists, and official state visitors in the relaxed atmosphere of Val-Kill. Explore the Roosevelt saga in the homes of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, the exhibits at the nation’s first Presidential Library, and over a thousand acres of gardens and trails.
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill) is located in the town of Hyde Park, NY, approximately 5 miles north of Poughkeepsie along Route 9G, midway between New York City and Albany, about a 1.5 hour drive from either direction. Located on the east bank of the Hudson River, the park is easily reached by either the Taconic State Parkway or Route 9, and the New York State Thruway west of the Hudson River.
Stone Cottage Visitor Center
The Stone Cottage Visitor Center offers exhibits on the history of Val-Kill. Start your visit here, where park rangers and volunteers will help you plan your visit. Building hours and tour schedules change seasonally.
The Stone Cottage Visitor Center is located a short walk from the parking lot across the pond.
Val-Kill Cottage
Val-Kill Cottage in the Summer
Val-Kill Cottage
Stone Cottage at Val-Kill
A small fieldstone cottage on a lush lawn with flowering shrubs.
The Stone Cottage at Val-Kill serves as the park's Visitor Center.
Val-Kill Park Road
A winding road through green fields and shade trees.
The entrance drive to Val-Kill winds through a meadow.
Living Room at Val-Kill
A paneled room with comfortable furniture and a baby grand piano.
Mrs. Roosevelt's Living Room at Val-Kill Cottage
The Screened Porch
A stone fireplace enclosed by a screend porch.
The Porch at Val-Kill
Eleanor Roosevelt's Room at Val-Kill
A bedroom with walls covered in framed photographs.
Mrs. Roosevelt's Room at Val-Kill
The Pond
A pond with meadow in the background.
Val-Kill Pond
NETN Species Spotlight - Your Flowers, Shrubs, and Plants
Native species - birds, insects, plants, etc - need our help. When planning your yard layout, consider adding some valuable native plants to the mix.
Red maple flowers
NETN Species Spotlight - Wild Turkey
Wild Turkeys are one of the most iconic species in America. They have a long, and as it turns out, mythic history.
Wild Tom Turkey. Wayne Dumbleton.
NETN Species Spotlight - Hermit Thrush
The Hermit Thrush's ethereal song is a mainstay of summers in the Northeastern U.S. But climate change could mean its song will only be heard north of the border if warming continues unabated.
A Hermit Thrush perches on the forest floor.
National Park Forests - More Than a Pretty Picture
A study led by NETN shows that eastern National Park forests hold greater complexity and ecosystem function that the surrounding forest.
A forest tech measures the size of a tree.
Species Spotlight - Red Crossbill
The Red Crossbillis one of the most unique and specialized birds of North America. Learn about their traits and habits, and how you may encounter a flock of them during this irruption year. .
A Red Crossbill sits on a conifer tree.
America’s National Parks Help Heal My PTSD
Retired Airforce TSgt. Jennifer Norris recounts how her travels to national parks help her cope with PTSD. She shares her story so that you may also find ways to heal in national parks.
Woman wearing a while floral dress and yellow sweater standing outdoors.
Citizen Science in the Digital Age
With well over 100 citizen-science based apps now available for smartphones, there is no lack of opportunity for people of all ages and affectations to significantly add to the collective knowledge base about many aspects of the natural world. The phrase “there is an app for that” has perhaps never been more true for natural resource monitoring.
Students use microscopes to identify pond species at the Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NHP Bioblitz.
NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, New York
Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. [Site Under Development]
house and tree
NETN Species Spotlight - Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The ruby-throated hummingbird is the only bird of that species that makes its home east of the Mississippi. Learn more about this remarkable bird.
A hummingbird feeds on a flower
NETN Species Spotlight: Monarch Butterfly
The monarch butterfly is a majestic insect. Mimicry, migration, and metamorphosis all help to make it the true king of butterflies. But it's numbers have been dropping dramatically in recent years. Learn more about this amazing species and how you can help to save it.
Monarch butterfly on a Meadow Blazing Star plant
NETN Species Spotlight: Japanese Knotweed
Japanese knotweed is a very robust invasive plant species. Learn why it spreads so readily outside of its native Japan, and how the NPS and other groups are trying to control it.
Japanese knotweed plant
NETN Species Spotlight: Acorn Barnacle
Barnacles may at first glance appear to have the most boring of lives. But dig a little deeper into these crafty crustaceans, and you'll learn they are among the most fascinating of seashore creatures.
Barnacle feeding close-up
NETN Species Spotlight - Northern Short-tailed Shrew
The northern short-tailed shrew seems like an impossible mash-up of different creatures. From venomous saliva to echolocation, this tiny predator employs many tactics to satiate an endless appetite.
Short-tailed Shrew
The Positive Side of Zero
For something that essentially represents "nothingness", the number zero carries a lot of weight when collecting data.
a stone zero
What’s the Buzz? How Bees Interrelate with Birds, Wildflowers, and Deer
Ecosystems are complex and intricate and sometimes have a surprising web of relationships. Learn how deer, bees, birds, and wildflowers connect in the park ecosystems of the northeast.
A bee pollinates a wildflower
Wild, Wacky, and Weird Weather. What the?
A look at the difference between weather and climate.
A Vermont blizzard.
NETN Species Spotlight - Fisher
The fisher is a very capable predator of northeastern forests. Learn about the ways this large member of the weasel family makes its living.
A large male fisher sitting
Species Spotlight - Giant Hogweed
Giant hogweed is a particularly nasty intruder across much of the country. Find out how the NPS looks for it in parks, and what to do if you spot one in your yard.
A person is dwarfed by a giant hogweed plant.
NETN Species Spotlight - Eastern Coyote
The eastern coyote is a new predator on the scene. But where did it come from and why is it so much larger than its western cousins? Learn about how this animal came to be and the important ecological niches it is filling in the Northeast.
A coyote stares at the camera.
Lessons Learned from a Decade of Forest Health Monitoring in NETN
After more than 10 years of monitoring forest health in NETN parks, plant ecologist Kate Miller shares here knowledge and insights and current forest conditions and tips on long term forest management.
A forest glade
NETN Field Note: Deer, Worms, and Invasives
When too many deer, earthworms, and invasive plant species work i concert, detrimental effects happen to the health of northeastern forests.
Forest health monitoring
NETN Species Spotlight - Turkey and Black Vultures
Vultures have the thankless job of cleaning the environment up of dead animal carcasses. Learn how they are able to do it without getting sick from deadly bacteria.
Close-up of a Black Vulture. Doug Greenberg.
NETN Species Spotlight - Sharp-shinned Hawk
About the size of a Blue-Jay, Sharp-shinned Hawks are aerial acrobats and are the smallest of three North American agile hawks known as the accipiters (ah-sip-it-ers). Learn more about this amazing and oft misunderstood hawk.
Sharp-shinned Hawk perched on a branch
NETN Species Spotlight - Snowshoe Hare
Snowshoe hare are perfectly adapted to their cold, snow environments. Even so, a warming climate and a complex predator/prey relationship has a large influence on their overall population.
The enormous hind feet of snowshoe hare.
NETN Species Spotlight - Ruffed Grouse
Ruffed Grouse have evolved many effective and surprising traits that allow them to survive northeastern winters.
Ruffed Grouse displaying Lucas Bobay
Eleanor Roosevelt and Women's Rights
Eleanor Roosevelt did not consider herself a suffragist, but her leadership following the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment demonstrates a life committed to the rights and welfare of women.
Eleanor Roosevelt n in a voting booth.
NETN Species Spotlight - Short-tailed Weasel
The short-tailed weasel is as energetic as it is resourceful. It has had a reputation of being both virtuous and vile over the centuries. Find out more about the amazing capabilities of this slender member of the weasel family
An ermine in full white.
NETN Species Spotlight - Paper Birch
The Paper Birch is undeniably a tree of the north woods. Entwined in lore and legend, it has been a key part of ecosystems and cultures since well before the time of the Neanderthals even.
Paper birch trees in winter.
NETN Species Spotlight - Serviceberry
Though it goes by many names, the serviceberry tree is much loved by people and birds alike. Learn more about one of spring's first bloomers and why you should plant one in your yard.
Serviceberries ripening.
Eleanor Roosevelt and World War II
By October of 1942, Eleanor Roosevelt was on her way to visit a country in the midst of war, where the shrill sounds of air raid sirens and the whistle of German bombs were a part of daily life. Despite the danger, Eleanor Roosevelt was determined to go because she wanted to be doing something useful.
First Lady Roosevelt with her DC-3 and crew
Val-Kill Industries
Eleanor Roosevelt and her friends Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O’Day created Val-Kill Industries in 1926. Located on the Roosevelt family estate in Hyde Park, New York, Val-Kill Industries was a direct response to changing demographics in the local community. At Val-Kill, the Roosevelts promoted cottage industry as a means to employ young men, supplement the income of farming families, and sustain a healthy balance between rural agriculture and urban industry.
A woman in a factory watches over the shoulder of a man carving wood at a lathe.
NETN Species Spotlight - American Woodcock
The American Woodcock is a quirky bird. Learn about their habits. and why they are a welcome sight (and sound) each spring in the Northeast,
An American Woodcock walks on the forest floor.
Species Spotlight - Puffballs
Puffballl mushrooms offer many joys - from stomping on them as children to eating them fried with butter. Learn more about this natural history of this fascinating fungi.
Puffball emitting spores.
Series: National Park Service Geodiversity Atlas
The servicewide Geodiversity Atlas provides information on <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geoheritage-conservation.htm">geoheritage</a> and <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/geodiversity.htm">geodiversity</a> resources and values all across the National Park System to support science-based management and education. The <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1088/index.htm">NPS Geologic Resources Division</a> and many parks work with National and International <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/geology/park-geology.htm">geoconservation</a> communities to ensure that NPS abiotic resources are managed using the highest standards and best practices available.
park scene mountains
Connecting the Dots: Muir Woods Hidden Figures
The history of how many significant moments at Muir Woods were influenced by a network of influential women and LGBTQ+ leaders. Learn about the conditions of the time period and how Pauli Murray, Jane Addams, Frances Perkins, and others effected change.
Collage of redwoods and foliage, portraits of six women are featured
Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites B.A.R.K. Rangers
Become a B.A.R.K. Ranger at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites.
Graphic image of a dog with the words B.A.R.K. Ranger.
Species Spotlight - Cecropia Moth
Cecropia moths are the largest moth in North America. Their fascinating one-year life cycle is one of the most amazing transformations known to nature.
Face of a male cecropia moth.
Invasion of the Biome Bashers
Invasive plants are a concerning and growing issue for eastern national parks. Learn what is spreading, and how some parks are seeing success in managing them.
Glossy buckthron
Diane Harris Dayson
Diane Harris was initially reluctant to pursue a Park Service career. However, she soon found that national parks were "in her blood". Her 26-year career saw her rise from clerk to superintendent at one of our most iconic national monuments.
Diane Dayson wearing the NPS uniform with badge and ranger flat hat.
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site Cultural Landscape
The Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill) is a 180.5-acre site located in the Hudson Valley of New York State. The cultural landscape preserves the home of Eleanor Roosevelt that began as an informal retreat for the former First Lady and later became her primary residence after the death of her husband, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1945. Val-Kill primarily served as a place for relaxation.
Scattered trees are reflected in the still water of a pond, next to an area of turf and a cottage
Resilient Forests Initiative - Managing Deer Impacts
A healthy forest needs to have enough tree seedlings and saplings to regenerate the forest canopy after a disturbance. Analysis of NPS I&M and other long-term datasets makes it clear that many eastern national parks lack adequate tree regeneration due to decades of over browsing by white-tailed deer.
Deer impacts
Managing Resilient Forests. A Regional Initiative
Forests cover tens of thousands of acres in eastern national parks and these critical resources face a range of interacting stressors: over-abundant white-tailed deer populations, invasive plant dominance, novel pests and pathogens, among other threats. The Resilient Forests Initiative will help parks address these issue collectively.
Forest health monitoring
I&M Networks Support Resilient Forest Management
NPS Inventory and Monitoring Networks have been tracking forest health in eastern national parks since 2006. This monitoring information can guide resilient forest management and support parks in adapting to changing conditions through the actions described below.
Forest health monitoring
Series: Managing Resilient Forests Initiative for Eastern National Parks
Forests in the northeastern U.S. are in peril. Over-abundant deer, invasive plants, and insect pests are impacting park forests, threatening to degrade the scenic vistas and forested landscapes that parks are renowned for. With regional collaboration, parks can manage these impacts and help forests be resilient. This article series explores tools available to park managers to achieve their goals.
Healthy forests have many native seedlings and saplings.
Species Spotlight - Eastern Phoebe
The return of Eastern Phoebes early each spring is a soul-satisfying, calendar-turning event after a long northeastern winter.
Eastern Phoebe
Resilient Forests Initiative - Managing Invasive Plants & Pests
Park forests are threatened by invasive plants and pests. Strategically tackling invasive plants to protect park’s highest priority natural resources and planning around forest pests and pathogens are important actions in managing resilient forests.
Forest Regeneration
Species Spotlight - Deer Tick
Deer ticks are an increasing problem in the northeast. Learn more about why they are increasing, the way they spread Lyme disease, and how to prevent getting a tick bite. And there are also lizards.
Warm lizard.
Species Spotlight - Dragonflies
Dragonflies have incredible powers of flight and vision. Learn how they use these to catch just about anything they want on the wing.
Dragonfly nymph.
Species Spotlight - White Ash
White ash trees are an integral part of the forests of the Northeast, and they are under grave threat of ceasing to exist as a mature canopy species in the near future. The culprit is a tiny invasive insect called the Emerald Ash Borer. Learn more about the current state of ash trees in the region, and learn how to help slow the spread of this destructive forest pest.
White ash seedling
Species Spotlight - Oaks
Oaks appear so often in the story of humanity that it could scarcely have been written without them. Learn more about this amazing trees species and how it has shaped cultures across the world.
A white oak branch with acorns
Species Spotlight - Flying Squirrels
Tiny and cute, flying squirrels are efficient gliders with a few surprises tucked away under their furry sleeves.
A Southern Flying Squirrel.
Trails&Rails 2023 National Conference
Current NPS Director Chuck Sams addresses attendees at the 2023 National Trails&Rails Operations Conference.
A large group of people sit facing forward at tables arranged in a U shap
Species Spotlight - Red Fox
Legendary for their cunning cleverness, red fox are equally at home in the trackless wilderness as they are in a tract-housing development. It has established itself world-wide, and it's very particular set of skills makes it a nightmare for hapless meadow voles.
A Red Fox.
A Hester Bateman Teapot at Val-Kill
Hester Bateman (1708-1794) achieved fame as an innovative entrepreneur in eighteenth-century London, at a time when women were largely excluded from the formal trades and professions.
A silver teapot with wood handle and engraved floral decoration.
My Park Story: Janell Bissonnette
#MyParkStory: Law Enforcement Ranger, Janell Bissonnette
A ranger with 2 children and a ranger vehicle
My Park Story: Sarah Love
#MyParkStory: Meet Sarah Love, Realty Specialist for the Northeast Region.
Ice Yachting on the Hudson River
My Park Story: Craig Oleszewski
#MyParkStory - Meet Craig Oleszewski, Project Manager at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site, in Hyde Park, New York.
a man in a hard hat, setting 1500 lbs of carved stone 60 feet off the ground.
My Park Story: Chad Rymph
#MyParkStory: Meet Chad Rymph, Carpenter at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt-VanBuren National Historic Site.
A man in a carpenter shop with an NPS shirt on.
My Park Story: Mike Twardy
My Park Story: Mike Twardy, Park Guide at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Site.
Mike with President of Ghana John Mahama at Val-Kill, 2013
Species Spotlight - Black Bear
Bears have endured a paradoxical reputation for centuries. At once being associated with cuddly teddy bears and the helpful Smokey Bear, as well as a ferocious, blood-thirsty beast. As we learn more about their mind-boggling biology however, they may start to occupy a new niche in the popular mind - that of a natural marvel.
A sitting black bear