Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

The home of Eleanor Roosevelt, located on spacious grounds in a charming section of Hyde Park, housed this First Lady on and off for most of her adult life. Although her main home was just down the street, the cottage at Val-Kill acted as an escape for Eleanor when the pressures and hardships of her life as First Lady grew too hard. She and the president often picnicked on the property after Franklin purchased it in 1911, and thought of the house and property as a vacation spot just minutes from their own house. Additionally, Val-Kill provided a space for Eleanor and her friends from the Women’s Division of the Democratic Party, Marion Dickerman and Nancy Cook, to discuss political issues and eventually led to the development of Val-Kill industries. Val-Kill industries, begun in 1927 and funded by the income of these woman, supported local craftsman and was a factory for local furniture making. This type of industry prepared the region for nationwide financial distress and gave opportunities for crafts, such as weaving, furniture making, and metalwork, to be taught and learned. The factory served as a model for the New Deal in later years. While the factory was productive for many years, Eleanor moved back into the space after the death of her husband, and spent her remaining years at her humble little cottage. After her death, the site was given to her children, but many individuals wanted the land and home to be developed. Luckily, the local community saved the house and land and petitioned National Parks to adopt it, which the National Parks gladly did. One large issue that this site had was regaining and preserving the original artifacts from the site. Much of the furniture had been sold and it took a lot of work by the site’s curator to recover the original furniture from the site.  Indeed, this is something they are still working on. Currently, the curators work on integrating the artifacts of the Roosevelts into the home and exhibits.  They also preserve, treat, and recover the less intact artifacts and store a good amount of art and furniture. Now, the site’s mission is not only to bring light to the role that it played in Eleanor’s life and commemorate the role of Eleanor as the first lady, but also they strive to bring the ideals of Eleanor Roosevelt to the larger community. To develop a relationship with the public, they employ a love of Eleanor Roosevelt and emphasize the house’s relationship with the President. As with most of the National Parks Sites, environmentalism is directly implemented on the site and is a large part of what their programs offer. Eleanor heavily appreciated the outdoors and this carried through to the site, through hiking trails and nature programs such as geotagging. Additionally, environmental studies have been conducted on the property by park rangers. They use the land to appeal to the public. Their “Teaching with Historic Places” program helps to engage the public through history and facilitates projects for youth and children. One particularly engaging program integrates art and creativity to appeal to a wide range of individuals. This program includes writing workshops, music in the park, artist invitationals, and photography workshops, which is a unique way to bring the history of this park alive. Throughout the Val-Kill National Historic Site, the ideals and goals of Eleanor Roosevelt are implemented and capitalized upon through her life, ideas, and home.