Camp David facts for kids

Camp David
Naval Support Facility Thurmont
Camp David; Naval Support Facility Thurmont
	Catoctin Mountain Park; Frederick County, Maryland, U.S.
	; Main Lodge at Camp David during the Nixon administration, February 9, 1971
Type	Military base
Built	1935
Built by	Works Progress Administration
Current; owner	U.S. Federal Government
Open to; the public	No
Controlled by	United States Navy
Occupants	President of the United States; First Lady of the United States
Events	Camp David Accords; 2000 Camp David Summit; 38th G8 summit

For the negotiations leading to the 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty, see Camp David Accords. For the summit in 2000, see 2000 Camp David Summit.

Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States. It is located in wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland, about 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of Washington, D.C.. It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont, because it is technically a military installation, and staffing is primarily provided by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was built as a camp for federal government agents and their families by the WPA. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. In 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La" (for the fictional Himalayan paradise in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton, which he had jokingly referenced as the source of the Doolittle Raid earlier that year). Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David.

The Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on park maps due to privacy and security concerns.

Presidential use

Since it was built, every president up to and including Barack Obama has made use of the retreat.

Roosevelt hosted Sir Winston Churchill in May 1943.
Dwight D. Eisenhower held his first cabinet meeting there on November 22, 1955 following hospitalization and convalescence required after a heart attack suffered in Denver, Colorado on September 24.
John F. Kennedy and his family often enjoyed riding and other recreational activities there, and Kennedy often allowed White House staff and cabinet members to use the retreat when he or his family were not there.
Lyndon B. Johnson met with advisors in this setting and hosted both Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt and Canadian Prime minister Lester B. Pearson there.
Richard Nixon was a frequent visitor. He personally directed the construction of a swimming pool and other improvements to Aspen Lodge.
Gerald Ford often rode his snowmobile around Camp David and hosted Indonesian President Suharto there.
Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords there in September 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.
Ronald Reagan visited the retreat more than any other president. In 1984, Reagan hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
George H. W. Bush's daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch, was married there in 1992, in the first ever wedding held at Camp David.
Bill Clinton used Camp David more as his tenure in office progressed and hosted the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on several occasions in addition to numerous celebrities.
George W. Bush hosted dignitaries, including President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, there in 2003, and hosted British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in 2007. George W. Bush also hosted Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in June 2006.
Barack Obama chose Camp David to host the 38th G8 summit in 2012. President Obama also hosted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at Camp David, as well as the GCC Summit there in 2015.
Donald Trump thus far has used his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida as his preferred retreat location, in lieu of Camp David. When asked about Camp David in an interview with the Times of London and the German newspaper Bild in January 2017, Trump stated that Camp David was "very rustic" and "It's nice, you'd like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes."

Gallery

Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at then named Shangri-La, May 1943
President Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with his National Security Council at Laurel Lodge, 1955
Main Lodge during Eisenhower administration, 1959
David Eisenhower (age 12), grandson of President Eisenhower, poses with sign named in his honor, 1960
John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Caroline Kennedy (riding 'Tex')
President Lyndon B. Johnson with Ambassadors Ellsworth Bunker and W. Averell Harriman exiting Aspen cabin, April 9, 1968
Richard and Pat Nixon walking their dogs in Camp David.
Camp David meeting discussing Vietnam situation – Richard Nixon with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Maj. Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., 1972
Richard Nixon, Camp David.
Gerald and Betty Ford, daughter Susan and Liberty, at Camp David
President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, and Jimmy Carter meet at the beginning of the Camp David Summit in 1978.
Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin at Camp David in 1978
Menachem Begin at Camp David, 1978.
Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge patio, September 6, 1978.
Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, and Anwar Sadat at Camp David, September 7, 1978.
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in Aspen Lodge, 1984.
Thatcher and Reagan walk at Camp David in 1986.
George H. W. Bush meets with his National Security advisors in the Laurel Lodge conference room on August 4, 1990.
Video Recording of Photo Opportunity at Camp David - NARA - 6037428.ogv

President Clinton with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at Camp David peace talks, July 2000.
George W. Bush meets with his advisors at Camp David on January 17, 2004, while preparing for his State of the Union address.
From Camp David, Vice President Dick Cheney and members of the Interagency Team on Iraq participate in a video teleconference with President George W. Bush in Baghdad, Iraq.
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and George W. Bush at Camp David, April 2007.
President George W. Bush and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten walk together with the President's dog Barney at Camp David, July 21, 2007.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden at Camp David in 2010.
World leaders at the 2012 G8 Summit. (Clockwise) Obama (standing), Cameron, Medvedev, Merkel, Van Rompuy, Barroso, Noda, Monti, Harper, and Hollande.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders prepare to have a group photo with the President outside of the Laurel Cabin at the conclusion of a summit meeting at Camp David, Md., May 14, 2015.