Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

National Park Week is Official! April 17th - 25th Did you know National Park Week is recognized by a presidential proclamation? Each year, National Park Week is declared a special time to celebrate national parks and programs across the country and to encourage everyone to discover the nation's diverse natural and cultural heritage. With over 400 national parks across the country, National Park Week is a great time to #FindYourPark (o major dicho, #EncuentraTuParque), #Recrea...teResponsibly, and show our treasured national parks that you care. The National Park Foundation is proud to protect wildlife and park lands, preserve history and culture, educate and engage youth, and connect people everywhere to the wonder of parks. To learn more visit: https://www.nationalparks.org//campaign/national-park-week The Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites remain closed, however, the grounds are available every day from 8:00 AM to 7:00 pm. #NPSWeek #NationalParkWeek National Park Service National Park Foundation #NPSHydePark

April 13th 1946 Opening Day for the public at the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site. #75thAnniversary #HomeofFDR #FDR National Park Service #HydeParkNY #DutchessCountyNY Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum #ParkRangers

Special guests offer their congratulations on the 75th Anniversary of the dedication of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a National Historic Site. View the video on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q2ikVkkDi8... #DiamondAnniversary #FDR #HomeofFDR National Park Service Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum #congratulations #NPSHydePark #HydeParkNY

Today, April 12th we celebrate the dedication of the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a National Historic Site. On the one year anniversary of the death of FDR, many dignitaries attended the celebration including, President Truman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Marian Anderson. Please click the link below to view the story of how and why FDR wanted his home to become part of the National Park Service and the celebration that took place on April 12, 1946. https://www.youtube.com/w...atch?v=oa0zU2OZrvI #FDR #HomeofFDR #Dedication #Springwood National Park Service Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum Harry S. Truman Library & Museum Harry S Truman National Historic Site #DiamondAnniversary #NPSHydePark #HydePakNY NPS and FDRL Photos Truman speaks at the dedication and the dignitaries all gather inside the first floor of the Home.

Governor Franklin Delano Roosevelt Before he was elected President of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was Governor of New York State. FDR was a two term Governor, first elected in 1928 and re-elected in 1930. Back then, it was only a two year term. He was initially very reluctant to run for this office because he was in the midst of trying to regain use of his legs after polio and he felt, along with his political advisor, Louis Howe, that 1928 would not be a g...Continue reading

While December 7th is the day most people associate with the United States entering World War II, it was actually 4 days after the invasion of Pearl Harbor, on December 11th 1941 that Germany and Italy declared war on the United States. These declarations brought America fully into World War II, which it had vowed to stay out of, thus changing the future of the country and the world. The United States would never again be an isolationist nation. Franklin Roosevelt would addr...ess Congress after receiving the declarations from Germany and Italy. To the Congress: On the morning of December eleventh, the Government of Germany, pursuing its course of world conquest, declared war against the United States. The long known and the long expected has thus taken place. The forces endeavoring to enslave the entire world now are moving toward this hemisphere. Never before has there been a greater challenge to life, liberty, and civilization. Delay invites greater danger. Rapid and united effort by all of the peoples of the world who are determined to remain free will insure a world victory of the forces of justice and of righteousness over the forces of savagery and of barbarism. Italy also has declared war against the United States. I therefore request the Congress to recognize a state of war between the United States and Germany, and between the United States and Italy. Photo - Declaration of War - National Archives

Gimme paw for another #FalaFriday! I’m Zoey, an 18 month old Boxer puppy that loves walking the grounds of the historic sites in Hyde Park. One of my absolute j...oys is to greet the rangers on site, especially Ranger Dana, because she gives me so much love and attention. She is part of a legacy that empowers women as stewards for our national treasures. *Tail Wag* The NPS sites in Hyde Park, NY possess notable firsts for prominent women of the time period. The rangers tell me that the first female superintendent to the National Park Service was stationed here at the Vanderbilt Mansion, appointed by FDR. Gertrude S. Cooper oversaw park operations and incorporated the Gilded Age into a component of the American story. This meant organizing tours throughout the home, all while keeping tabs on the rowdy Secret Service who were stationed on the third floor of the Mansion during WWII. She cared for the rooms and curbed the influx of late-night visitors after hours into the mansion, and also had to deal with the agents’ laundry. When it opened in the summer of 1940, Gertrude employed former servants and aides of Frederick Vanderbilt to lead tours, and when it became more popular, CCC men were trained to give tours as well. Gertrude was a good friend of Eleanor Roosevelt, who recommended her for the job. Her role as superintendent lasted through WWII, approximately 5 years until she switched jobs to become the director at the Greenwich Home in NYC. Yet, this certainly wouldn’t be the only connection to the NPS for Eleanor. Since 1977, her home of Val-Kill has been designated as the first National Historic Site dedicated to a First Lady-- her life and activism. In another connection to the NPS, she actively took part in planning FDR’s home for public use following the president’s death. She even led tours herself on occasion. Can you imagine having Eleanor as your tour guide at Springwood? I have a feeling she would have given me all the love and attention I could ever want too! Check out the photo below to see a news story of Gertrude’s first few days on the job. Visit any of the sites to learn more about the women who were integral to the history here and have a chance to be featured on our next #FalaFriday!

Today is Human Rights Day, observed every year on 10 December the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

St. James Episcopal Church: The Church of the President (Formerly God’s) Founded in 1811, St. James’ Episcopal Church was where the Hyde Park Roosevelts attended religious services. James Roosevelt, FDR’s father, converted to the Episcopal faith, upon marrying his first wife and became a regular churchgoer at St. James’. Sunday services here were a constant during FDR’s boyhood. As an adult, he served as a Vestryman and Senior Warden, just as his father and half-brother, R...osy, had done before him. St. James’ was an important institution to the Roosevelt family. Many Roosevelts are buried in its graveyard, including FDR’s parents, James and Sara; James’ first wife, Rebecca Howland Roosevelt; FDR’s half-brother, Rosy and both of his wives; as well as three of FDR’s children: Anna, Franklin Jr., and John. St. James’ received extra attention during Roosevelt’s presidency. In response, the Rector at the time put a sign in front of the church that said: Church of the President. FDR was highly amused when someone mischievously added (Formerly God’s) to the end of this sign. The current church building dates to 1844. For more on St. James: http://www.stjameshydepark.org/sjhistory.htm Photo of St. James - NPS Photo - June 11, 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt with King George, Queen Elizabeth, Eleanor Roosevelt and Sara Delano Roosevelt in front of St. James - FDR Library

James Roosevelt: The President’s Father 7/16/1828 - 12/8/1900 James Roosevelt was born on July 16th, 1828 at a place called Mount Hope. It was an estate owned by his Grandfather just north of Poughkeepsie, NY. Born into the wealth and social hierarchy of the New York upper class, James would be educated at private schools in Poughkeepsie and Lee, Massachusetts before attending college at the University of New York and Union College in Schenectady, NY. At Union college he jo...ined a fraternity that met in a saloon. He graduated from Union in 1847. By 1853 James settled down and married his cousin Rebecca Howland and a year later the couple had a son named James Rosy (half-brother to the future president). In 1867 James Mr. James as many would call him, and his wife bought a 110-acre property in Hyde Park and named the estate Springwood. James would be widowed in 1876 when Rebecca died suddenly, he was just 48 at the time. Four years later in 1880 at the age of 52 he decided to marry again to 26-year-old Sara Delano of Newburgh, NY. Two years later, on January 30th, 1882 the couple would be blessed with a 10-pound baby boy they named Franklin Delano Roosevelt. James for the first years was a wonderful father, the two were such a gay pair, Sara Roosevelt remembered, sledding and riding and sailing and laughing together. FDR would go with his father on his private car when they inspected the railroad lines. FDR remained very close to his father even as his father’s health declined through the years. As James' health worsened, Sara was able to get his two sons home to be with their father. Sara wrote on 7 December, I felt so discouraged today that I got Franklin to telephone Rosy to come to Hyde Park. When he got here, his dear father was quite bright, and they made me go down to dinner. I could hardly bear it. The following day on 8 December 1900 at two-twenty in the morning with Sara, Rosy and Franklin at his bedside, Mr. James died. Franklin grieved privately at night as he tried to console his mother during the day. With his father gone his mother became the dominate person in FDR’s life. FDR and James- Portrait in Washington DC in 1887. Image from FDR Library. FDR and His father James Roosevelt sitting on the porch in a suit and tie at Campobello. 1900. Image from FDR Library FDR, James and Sara on South Lawn of Springwood Hyde Park, NY in 1900. Image from FDR Library.