Eisenhower National Historic Site, in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, includes the farm once owned by Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie. Eisenhower was the 34th president of the United States, serving two terms, from 1953 to 1961. The site includes the Eisenhowers’ home, with its original furnishings, and barns where Eisenhower raised prize-winning Angus cattle. It also includes a guest house and several guardhouses, which were once used by Secret Service agents. Today, the site is operated as a working farm.
In 1950, Eisenhower and his wife purchased the house and farm. It was the only home they ever owned. During Eisenhower’s presidency, they used the farm as a weekend retreat. Eisenhower met there with world leaders, including Nikita Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, and Charles de Gaulle of France. In 1961, the Eisenhowers retired there. They deeded the farm to the United States in 1967. The property was authorized as a historic site in 1969, after Eisenhower’s death. However, Mamie Eisenhower continued to live there until her death in 1979. The National Park Service opened the site in 1980.
