Camp David facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Camp David Naval Support Facility Thurmont
Catoctin Mountain Park Frederick County, Maryland in the United States
The main lodge during February 1971
Camp David Location in the United States
Coordinates	39°38′54″N 77°27′54″W / 39.64833°N 77.46500°W / 39.64833; -77.46500
Type	Presidential country retreat
Site information
Owner	Department of Defense
Operator	US Navy
Controlled by	Naval District Washington
Open to the public	No
Site history
Built	1935 (1935) – 1938
Built by	Works Progress Administration
In use	1938 – present
Events	Camp David Accords (1978) Camp David Summit (2000) 38th G8 summit (2012)
Garrison information
Current commander	Commander Catherine Eyrich
Occupants	President of the United States and the First Family

Camp David is the country retreat for the president of the United States of America. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of the national capital city of Washington, D.C. It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont. Because it is technically a military installation, the staffing is primarily provided by the Seabees, Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Naval construction battalions are tasked with base construction and send detachments as needed.

Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was built as a camp for federal government agents and their families by the Works Progress Administration. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. In 1942, President 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.

Camp David received its present name in 1953 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, although it can be seen through the use of publicly accessible satellite images.

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

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  Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at then named Shangri-La, May 1943

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  President Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with his National Security Council at Laurel Lodge, 1955

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  Main Lodge during Eisenhower administration, 1959

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  David Eisenhower (age 12), grandson of President Eisenhower, poses with sign named in his honor, 1960

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  John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Caroline Kennedy (riding 'Tex')

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  President Lyndon B. Johnson with Ambassadors Ellsworth Bunker and W. Averell Harriman exiting Aspen cabin, April 9, 1968

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  Richard and Pat Nixon walking their dogs in Camp David.

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  Camp David meeting discussing Vietnam situation – Richard Nixon with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Maj. Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., 1972

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  Richard Nixon, Camp David.

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  Gerald and Betty Ford, daughter Susan and Liberty, at Camp David

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  President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, and Jimmy Carter meet at the beginning of the Camp David Summit in 1978.

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  Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin at Camp David in 1978

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  Menachem Begin at Camp David, 1978.

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  Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge patio, September 6, 1978.

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  Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, and Anwar Sadat at Camp David, September 7, 1978.

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  Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in Aspen Lodge, 1984.

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  Thatcher and Reagan walk at Camp David in 1986.

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  George H. W. Bush meets with his National Security advisors in the Laurel Lodge conference room on August 4, 1990.

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  George W. Bush meets with his advisors at Camp David on January 17, 2004, while preparing for his State of the Union address.

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  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.

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  Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and George W. Bush at Camp David, April 2007.

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  President George W. Bush and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten walk together with the President's dog Barney at Camp David, July 21, 2007.

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  Barack Obama and Joe Biden at Camp David in 2010.

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  World leaders at the 2012 G8 Summit. (Clockwise) Obama (standing), Cameron, Medvedev, Merkel, Van Rompuy, Barroso, Noda, Monti, Harper, and Hollande.

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  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.

Images for kids

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  Aviation chart showing restricted airspace in the Washington DC area. Camp David is the light circle to the north.

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  Main living room of the lodge at Shangri-La, with FDR's chair near the bookcase and a rocker that had belonged to Teddy Roosevelt

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  U.S. Marine standing guard at Shangri-La, 1944

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  Eisenhower with John F. Kennedy, in a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo

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  Richard and Pat Nixon walking their dogs in Camp David.

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  Donald Trump is briefed about Hurricane Dorian, August 2019.

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  Joe Biden participating in a video conference with his national security team in August 2021.

See also

In Spanish: Camp David para niños