Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, in Hyde Park, New York, is the personal retreat and final home of Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt was one of the most active first ladies in American history. She devoted much of her time to humanitarian work.
In 1924, Franklin gave Eleanor several acres of land near Springwood, the Roosevelt family estate, so that she and her friends could build a cottage. By 1925, Eleanor had built a small Dutch Colonial-style house called Stone Cottage near Fall Kill, a stream. Eleanor named her estate Val-Kill for this stream.
In 1926, Eleanor and her friends had a larger building erected on the estate. This building housed Val-Kill Industries, a factory that produced furniture, pewter pieces, and weavings. The business closed in 1936 during the Great Depression. Eleanor converted the factory into a cottage for herself, her secretary, and guests. She named this home Val-Kill Cottage.
Eleanor spent weekends, holidays, and summers with her friends at Val-Kill. After Franklin’s death in 1945, Eleanor lived at Val-Kill Cottage permanently. She entertained many distinguished visitors at Val-Kill, including Premier Nikita S. Khrushchev of the Soviet Union, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru of India, and Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia.
Val-Kill became a national historic site in 1977. The National Park Service maintains and operates Val-Kill Cottage, the Rose Garden, and the Cutting Garden. The Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, a nonprofit organization, operates from Stone Cottage.
See also Roosevelt, Eleanor .
