Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Encyclopedia
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site (Val-Kill) consists of 180 acre (0.7284348 km²) approximately two miles east of Springwood
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
The Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site preserves the Springwood estate in Hyde Park, New York, United States of America. Springwood was the birthplace, lifelong home, and burial place of the 32nd President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt...

, the Hyde Park
Hyde Park, New York
Hyde Park is a town located in the northwest part of Dutchess County, New York, United States, just north of the city of Poughkeepsie. The town is most famous for being the hometown of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt....

 Roosevelt family home.

History

FDR
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 encouraged Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...

 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
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

 common to the original 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
Marion Dickerman
Marion Dickerman was an American suffragette, educator, vice-principal of the Todhunter School and an intimate of Eleanor Roosevelt.-Birth and early life:...

 and Nancy Cook
Nancy Cook
Nancy Cook was an American suffragette, teacher, part owner of the Todhunter School and an intimate of Eleanor Roosevelt.-Birth and early life:...

, which they sold back to Eleanor in 1947 and a large two-story stuccoed building that housed Val-Kill Industries
Val-Kill Industries
Eleanor Roosevelt established Val-Kill Industries in 1927 with Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O'Day, three friends she met through her activities in the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Party. Val-Kill was located on the banks of a stream that flowed through the...

 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
Encampment for Citizenship
The Encampment for Citizenship was a summer camp founded by Algernon D. Black in 1946 through the New York Society for Ethical Culture. The camp program's aim was, according to the society, for "young adults of many religious, racial, social and national backgrounds" to learn "the principles and...

 here.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 signed a proclamation making it the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site. In 1984 the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill
Val-Kill Industries
Eleanor Roosevelt established Val-Kill Industries in 1927 with Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O'Day, three friends she met through her activities in the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Party. Val-Kill was located on the banks of a stream that flowed through the...

 negotiated an agreement with the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 and made Stone Cottage its home. In 2008 the Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill
Val-Kill Industries
Eleanor Roosevelt established Val-Kill Industries in 1927 with Nancy Cook, Marion Dickerman, and Caroline O'Day, three friends she met through her activities in the Women's Division of the New York State Democratic Party. Val-Kill was located on the banks of a stream that flowed through the...

moved from Stone Cottage to a new facility at Val-Kill.

External links

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