FDR's Little White House
In my last blog I mentioned our visit to Pine Mountain, Georgia. If you choose to visit that area and have an extra day, you owe it to yourself to visit the town of Warm Springs, Georgia. It is about 30 minutes from Pine Mountain, and the road we took winds through F.D. Roosevelt State Park. It is a beautiful path to Warm Springs that includes several over look areas with breathtaking views. As you go through the park, be sure to stop at Dowdell’s Knob. It served as a picnic spot for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt when he visited Warm Springs.
He traveled to Warm Springs hoping the warm water of the springs would cure the Polio he suffered from. While we were in Warm Springs, we visited the pools where President Roosevelt received treatment. There is an interesting display that explains the history of the pools and highlights FDR’s time there. The pools remain empty most of the year now, so you can stand in them and feel the temperature of the water from a small fountain at the end of one of the pools. If you are going to be in the area around Labor Day, the pools will be open from Saturday, September 4th – Monday September 6th. For more information, you can call 706-655-5870.
The highlight of our visit to Warm Springs was a tour of the Little White House. It was a house that FDR had built in 1932 while he was governor of New York. He actually died in the house as he was having his portrait painted on April 12, 1945. One of the things we found most fascinating is that museum curators have left the house almost exactly as it was when the President died there. (David thought it was just fascinating that the toilet paper was still on the roll in the bathroom from the day FDR died.)
I think it is a neat and somewhat rare thing to visit where a president has lived. I am always looking for interesting historical sites for our family to visit as we travel, and I have to say that this was one of my favorites. I hope you get the opportunity to visit FDR’s house soon.