Franklin Roosevelt State Park and Roosevelt’s Little White House

After my stay at Indian Springs I headed over to Franklin Roosevelt State Park for a five night stay. This is another nice Georgia State Park, matter fact it’s the largest state park in Georgia. It consists of 9,049 acres and has over 40 miles of trails. There are 21 cottages, 140 campsites, 16 backcountry campsites that you can hike to, group shelters and also a seasonal swimming pool. It sits high on Pine Mountain where you can get some nice views of the countryside. The highlight of my stay was a visit to the “Little White House” located near Warm Springs a short distance from the park. In 1924 when Franklin Roosevelt was governor of New York he first came to Warm Springs to check out the 88° springs in the area seeking relief from his paralysis caused by polio.In 1927, Roosevelt and others established the Warm Springs Foundation, later known as the Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation, which established therapeutic programs utilizing the area’s mineral springs. Since then, the Institute has developed into a complex of facilities helping those with disabilities. Just prior to being elected president of the United States for the first time, in 1932 Roosevelt built a residence nearby which would come to be known as the “Little White House”. Roosevelt was quite the president being elected four times. He helped this country through many trying times the great depression and most of World War II. Dying at the start of his fourth term on April 12, 1945, shortly before the end of World War II. He was visiting his little cottage and posing for a portrait that was never finished when he suffered a stroke and died shortly after in this residence. The portrait that he was posing for is featured here in one of the museum buildings as it was left unfinished, here’s a photo of it.Years later the artist completed a second portrait from photos and memory of how the portrait would’ve looked. One key difference between the two is the color of his tie in the second portrait.The house was preserved very much as of the day he died, with many of the original furnishings still in it. It’s a small but very nicely built little house nestled in the hills and woods just outside the village of Warm Springs, Georgia. He spent as much time as he could, coming here and spending time at the Warm Springs seeking relief from his paralysis and enjoying the beautiful countryside. Here’s some photos of the inside of the little house. Here in the dining room, he would conduct business as needed. As you see in this photo it was quite rustic we decorated. And the opposite wall of this dining and living room area had a beautiful fireplace. This was Roosevelt’s bedroom and here is a photo of the bed that he died in. The house consists of only three small bedrooms, a fair sized kitchen and the living room dining room area. Off to one side was his secretary’s room which was accessible from the open deck on the back of the house. In this photo the secretary’s room was off to the left and Roosevelt’s room was the door on the right. All around the property there were numerous little guard houses were Secret Service and military men would stand guard while he was here. Here’s one off the back deck. Another bedroom in the house, was Eleanor’s bedroom. Even though she spent very little time at this resident the bedroom got a lot to use as explained in this plaque by their children. In this photo of the front of the house the left side window is where Eleanor’s bedroom was and the right side is the kitchen sorry no pictures of the kitchen. There’s a nice bronze plaque out in front of the house. Also on the property was a small guest house with two bedrooms in it. And just adjacent to it a servants resident and another one of the many guard houses. Another part of the grounds features the “Walk of Flags and Stones”. Completed in 1959 features the state flags and specimens of native stones from each state and the District of Columbia. As you walk it you get to see, all the different state flags and some unique stone specimens I really like this one for Arizona which is petrified wood. And of course the Wisconsin flag. And a piece of Red Granite from Montello, Wisconsin a town very close to Oxford where I lived for 20 years. Another part of the historical site is an 11,000 square-foot museum. It contains all kinds’ information about Roosevelt and many of the fine things he and his family helped to accomplish over the years. It also includes a couple automobiles that were specially built with hand controls so he could drive around the countryside. A really nice 1940s roadster. It was custom-built form as explained in this plaque. I really liked this blue one. It’s a 1938 and the last one he drove around Warm Springs. In here in front of the car is a display showing how the hand controls were adapted to it, very simple but effective. One other cool thing I liked was this old stagecoach, used in the 1800s to bring people around this area, it was a vacation spot them. One of the most fascinating things on display were, is all the canes that were sent to President Roosevelt, here at Warm Springs. They were all handmade by people as gifts. A couple of my favorite were this one of the bulldog. And this one with several presidents carved in. There were dozens of them, all quite unique. Another part of the historical site, a short drive away from the Little White House. Is the original historical warm spring pools used for treatment of polio patient’s that Roosevelt helped build (read more about them here). The part that I found the most interesting was how much water move from the spring every minute, at 914 gallons a minute. There’s a small museum with displays explaining the treatment center and you can walk out by all the original pools. At the time it was in operation this was all enclosed by glass walls. Even though the pools stand dry now, you can still see the spring flowing. You can even walk down and feel the warm water. Well that was the big highlight of my stay here in this part of Georgia. But Maxine and I did quite a bit of hiking and she got the do a little more swimming. On Sunday the rain came in and it rained off and on most of the day. Monday ended up being very cold and windy and I also had to make a quick visit to a local dentist. On Friday night while I was eating some pretzels, I cracked one of my teeth that had a rather large filling. So I called a local dentist Monday morning and was able to get in at 10 o’clock and get a temporary crown put on the tooth. He did an excellent job and I appreciate the speedy service he was able to give me. And later this year when I more stationary, I will get a permanent crown put on. Tomorrow Tuesday I will pack up and head about 30 miles west of here to “West Point Lake”, right on the state line and spend a few days there at of Corps of Engineers Park. Then the plan is to move further west to near Montgomery, Alabama where I plan on spending five nights at another Army Corps of Engineers Park. Stay tuned for more of my travels as I slowly make my way back to Wisconsin. Thanks for coming along and best wishes to all, Rick

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