Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
| Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site | |
|---|---|
Stone Cottage
|
|
 |
|
| Location | Haviland, Hyde Park, Dutchess County, New York, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°45′47″N 73°53′56″W / 41.76306°N 73.89889°WCoordinates: 41°45′47″N 73°53′56″W / 41.76306°N 73.89889°W |
| Area | 181 acres (73 ha) |
| Established | May 27, 1977 |
| Visitors | 52,690 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site |
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Stone Cottage at Val-Kill, the home of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and its surrounding property of 181 acres (73 ha). It is located approximately two miles east of Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate, in Hyde Park, New York.
The only residence Eleanor personally owned, it was the site of Val-Kill Industries and would be Eleanor's home after the death of her husband, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1945. Converted into rental units and later sold to developers after Eleanor's death in 1962, it was saved through a public campaign and declared a Historic Site in 1977. It is now managed by the National Park Service, with partnerships with two private non-profit organizations who assist with fundraising, development and restoration projects.
Franklin encouraged Eleanor Roosevelt to develop this property as a place that she could develop some of her ideas for work with winter jobs for rural workers and women. She named the spot Val-Kill, loosely translated as waterfall-stream from the Dutch language common to the original European settlers of the area. There are two buildings which are adjacent to Fallkill Creek. Stone Cottage, the original cottage which was home to Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, which they sold back to Eleanor in 1947 and a large two-story stuccoed building that housed Val-Kill Industries and which would become Eleanor's home after Franklin's death. It was the only residence that she personally owned.
Eleanor Roosevelt often hosted workshops for Encampment for Citizenship here.
The larger house was converted into four rental units after Eleanor's death in 1962, and in 1970 the land was purchased by a private company for development purposes. Public reaction to this sale developed into a preservation campaign and the possibility of making the site a national memorial. In May 1977, Val-Kill was designated the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site by an Act of Congress, "to commemorate for the education, inspiration, and benefit of present and future generations the life and work of an outstanding woman in American history."
...
Wikipedia