FDR's Little White House at Warm Springs, Georgia
The Little White House is the name for the house where Franklin Delano Roosevelt went to take treatments for his polio, where he went to rest as President, and where he died in 1945. The house is located in the Warm Springs Historic District at Warm Springs, Georgia. Roosevelt first came to Warm Springs for polio treatment. He liked the area so much that, as Governor of New York, he had a home built on nearby Pine Mountain. The house was finished in 1932 and Roosevelt kept the house after he became President, using it as a Presidential retreat.
The Little White House was opened to the public as a museum in 1948. A major attraction of the museum is the portrait that artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff was painting of FDR when he died. It is now known as the "Unfinished Portrait." It hangs near a finished portrait that Shoumatoff completed later from sketches and memory. The Little White House Historic Site is operated by the State of Georgia and is also known as Roosevelt's Little White House Historic Site.
Residents of Georgia began taking vacations at Bullochville, Georgia in the late 18th century as a way to escape yellow fever. They found the number of warm springs in the vicinity of Bullochville very pleasant and relaxing. The community was a convenient stop for persons traveling by railroad to Durand, Georgia from Atlanta. Once the automobile became popular in the early 20th century, the tourists began going elsewhere.
In 1921 Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted what was thought at the time to be polio. One of the few things that seemed to ease his pain was immersion in warm water. His first time in Warm Springs, Georgia, was October 1924. He went to a resort in the town whose attraction was a permanent 88-degree natural spring. The resort's main house was in a state of disrepair. Roosevelt bought the resort and the 1,700-acre farm surrounding it in 1927. The resort later became known as the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. In 1932, after winning the presidency for the first time, Roosevelt had a six-room Georgia pine house built on the property. This house was FDR’s retreat throughout his presidency and became known as the Little White House. In total, he made sixteen trips to the Little White House during his presidency, usually spending two to three weeks at a time.
The Little White House was a six-room Colonial Revival structure made of Georgia pine. Three of the rooms were bedrooms: one for Roosevelt, one for his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, and one for his personal secretary. The other rooms were an entrance hall, a living room, and a kitchen. Access to the Little White House was from an unpaved road. The garage/servant's quarters was built in 1932, followed by the single-story frame cottage that served as a guesthouse in 1933, and finally a cottage for Georgia Wilkins in 1934. Wilkins' family was the original owner of the property.
Roosevelt spent less time there during World War II. But the only year he did not go to the Little White House was 1942, as his time was consumed with the start of US involvement in World War II. Vacations there served as a substitute for sailing on the Atlantic, was too dangerous to do during wartime. During the war soldiers from Fort Benning were stationed at the Little White House to patrol the woods surrounding the farm.
FDR's last trip to the Little White House was on March 30, 1945. He felt in need of rest and believed that he would not get enough rest at his Hyde Park home. When he attended there he looked very frail. On April 12, 1945, FDR was sitting for a portrait at the Little White House when he suffered a stroke. Roosevelt died two hours later of cerebral hemorrhage.
Most of Roosevelt's property was willed to Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, which gained control of all the properties in 1948 except for the Georgia Wilkins Cottage. Wilkins continued to live there until her 1959 death. Both John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 used the property for their campaigns to become president. Carter launched his campaign there.
Today the Little White House is part of Georgia's state park system and is open to visitors. It has been preserved to look essentially the way it did on the day that FDR died. Items on display at the facility, besides the Unfinished Portrait, include his customized 1938 Ford convertible (in the bottom floor of the garage/servant house) and his stagecoach.
Following is more information about this venue:
Website: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/roosevelts_little_white_house.html
Location: 401 Little White House Road, Warm Springs, Georgia
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. each day (last tour begins at 4:00 p.m.) Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's days.
The Little White House was opened to the public as a museum in 1948. A major attraction of the museum is the portrait that artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff was painting of FDR when he died. It is now known as the "Unfinished Portrait." It hangs near a finished portrait that Shoumatoff completed later from sketches and memory. The Little White House Historic Site is operated by the State of Georgia and is also known as Roosevelt's Little White House Historic Site.
Residents of Georgia began taking vacations at Bullochville, Georgia in the late 18th century as a way to escape yellow fever. They found the number of warm springs in the vicinity of Bullochville very pleasant and relaxing. The community was a convenient stop for persons traveling by railroad to Durand, Georgia from Atlanta. Once the automobile became popular in the early 20th century, the tourists began going elsewhere.
In 1921 Franklin Delano Roosevelt contracted what was thought at the time to be polio. One of the few things that seemed to ease his pain was immersion in warm water. His first time in Warm Springs, Georgia, was October 1924. He went to a resort in the town whose attraction was a permanent 88-degree natural spring. The resort's main house was in a state of disrepair. Roosevelt bought the resort and the 1,700-acre farm surrounding it in 1927. The resort later became known as the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. In 1932, after winning the presidency for the first time, Roosevelt had a six-room Georgia pine house built on the property. This house was FDR’s retreat throughout his presidency and became known as the Little White House. In total, he made sixteen trips to the Little White House during his presidency, usually spending two to three weeks at a time.
The Little White House was a six-room Colonial Revival structure made of Georgia pine. Three of the rooms were bedrooms: one for Roosevelt, one for his wife Eleanor Roosevelt, and one for his personal secretary. The other rooms were an entrance hall, a living room, and a kitchen. Access to the Little White House was from an unpaved road. The garage/servant's quarters was built in 1932, followed by the single-story frame cottage that served as a guesthouse in 1933, and finally a cottage for Georgia Wilkins in 1934. Wilkins' family was the original owner of the property.
Roosevelt spent less time there during World War II. But the only year he did not go to the Little White House was 1942, as his time was consumed with the start of US involvement in World War II. Vacations there served as a substitute for sailing on the Atlantic, was too dangerous to do during wartime. During the war soldiers from Fort Benning were stationed at the Little White House to patrol the woods surrounding the farm.
FDR's last trip to the Little White House was on March 30, 1945. He felt in need of rest and believed that he would not get enough rest at his Hyde Park home. When he attended there he looked very frail. On April 12, 1945, FDR was sitting for a portrait at the Little White House when he suffered a stroke. Roosevelt died two hours later of cerebral hemorrhage.
Most of Roosevelt's property was willed to Georgia Warm Springs Foundation, which gained control of all the properties in 1948 except for the Georgia Wilkins Cottage. Wilkins continued to live there until her 1959 death. Both John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 used the property for their campaigns to become president. Carter launched his campaign there.
Today the Little White House is part of Georgia's state park system and is open to visitors. It has been preserved to look essentially the way it did on the day that FDR died. Items on display at the facility, besides the Unfinished Portrait, include his customized 1938 Ford convertible (in the bottom floor of the garage/servant house) and his stagecoach.
Following is more information about this venue:
Website: https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/roosevelts_little_white_house.html
Location: 401 Little White House Road, Warm Springs, Georgia
Hours of Operation: 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. each day (last tour begins at 4:00 p.m.) Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's days.