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| The Little White House in Warm Springs - Franklin Roosevelt's retreat in Georgia |
In honor of today's holiday, "Presidents' Day", we at Barb's Tea Service thought it the perfect time to share highlights from our recent visit to "The Little White House", Franklin Roosevelt's retreat in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Last month, on our return-home road-trip (central Florida back to Michigan), our friends (and fellow January snowbirds, Pam and Quint) suggested we stop at the Little White House, considering we're fellow history buffs and, added bonus, its location was not too far off our route.
So, on a cool, but sunny, Monday afternoon, my husband, Chris and I, drove into Warm Springs, a small town roughly an hour and a half west of Macon, Georgia with Roosevelt's Little White House just a few minutes passed the historic burg.
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| FDR's specially equipped car on display in the museum. |
Nestled in the woods, the Little White House is one of four separate buildings on the site. Guests first enter a museum/visitors center, where docents guide one through the campus. A short film, in the museum's theater, is recommended to start the tour. A time capsule of its own, the fifteen minute movie is narrated by Walter Cronkite and tells the story of FDR's connection to Warm Springs; from seeking a cure for polio, which struck him in 1921, in the region's natural spa water to constructing a second home where he conducted many of his presidential duties. (Although the heated springs - a constant 88 degrees - didn't provide a cure, it did bring some improvement and provided a bit of relief.).
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| FDR's stamp collection |
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| Little White House patio furniture and china |
There are many treasures to view in the museum, including the car FDR drove, which had specially designed hand controls to replace foot pedals, his prized stamp collection and the patio furniture and china used on the Little White House deck. There's also a full section devoted to Eleanor Roosevelt, a trailblazing First Lady that we not only admire, but have a dedicated tea talk devoted to her. (See our blog - Tuesday Tea and Tomes: The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt, where we talk about ER and our ER tea talks!)
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| Eleanor display in the museum |
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| Roosevelts in Hyde Park, 2015 |
While we learned that Eleanor didn't stay in Warm Springs often, it was Val-Kil Industries that supplied most of the furniture for the Little White House. Val-Kil was a small factory that Eleanor, along with two partners, established for farmers near her home in New York to make furniture and other crafts to supplement their income. We also discovered - in the gift shop! - that Eleanor's favorite tea was "Orange Pekoe" - and, yes, we most certainly bought a package to bring home,in addition to an Eleanor Roosevelt tea mug. 😉🫖
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| Inside the Little White House, FDR's chair and table near the fireplace. |
But, the real treasure lies up the hill to the Little White House, which is flanked by two other buildings: a guest house and staff quarters.
What struck me when first entering the Little White House was how unpretentious the living space is. Not to say it doesn't have charm, but it's found in the well-structured wood beams and floors, the stone fireplace and the natural beauty of finely crafted furniture as opposed to, say, multiple crystal chandeliers and gilt-covered everything.
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| Back deck overlooking woods |
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| Secret service spot |
One of our guides explained that the architect for the Little White House did have a more luxurious design in mind, but FDR insisted on a residence that reflected more of its environs.
It was at the Little White House where Roosevelt put together many of the Depression-area programs that were part of the New Deal. Inspired by the community of Warm Springs, he continued to push for improvements for those not born of privilege. In fact, when first arriving in Warm Springs, he was shocked to learn that residents in this area paid four times the amount for electricity that he paid in his home in New York.
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| FDR's bedroom, no plush furnishings |
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| Bathroom between bedrooms. |
While there is much to celebrate that occurred at Warm Springs, it was also where tragedy struck. On April 12, 1945, FDR died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the Little White House, not long after returning from Yalta. Sadly, after all his dedication and commitment to peace, he did not live to see the official end of WW II.
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| The "unfinished portrait" on display. |
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| Photos capture FDR. |
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Just before his death, Roosevelt was having his presidential portrait painted. The "unfinished portrait" is on display in the Legacy room, part of the museum. Next to the portrait that most of us would recognize immediately from history books and other FDR references, there are photos of what he truly looked like at the time. At only 62, he looks much older and more frail. As our guide noted, the artist's portrayal of the thirty second president was truly a gift to FDR and his family.
Visiting the Little White House was an amazing and incredibly interesting experience. After our afternoon immersion in Warm Springs, we concluded that even if this historic venue had taken us off our direct route home for a few hours, it was worth every minute. A piece of history, so grand in ways we don't typically define as such, it makes one appreciate even more what today's holiday is honoring.
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| Little White House with Eleanor tea and mug, purchased at the gift shop |
As I drink my Orange Pekoe, I raise my Eleanor Roosevelt tea mug to many of our President's (and First Lady's) who take on the task of running the country.
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| Hyde Park with Rachel, 2015. More presidential sites to visit in the future! |
I also am once again inspired to get back to more visits of Presidential homes and libraries. To date, I've only visited seven sites, for six presidents: Mount Vernon, the Hermitage, the Gerald Ford Museum, the McKinnley Museum and tomb, Taft's home and for Franklin Roosevelt both the FDR home and library in Hyde Park and, most recently, the Little White House.
I'm thinking we'll "off-road" a bit more in the future.
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