Little White House Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Little White House
U.S. Historic district Contributing property


Location in Georgia (U.S. state) Show map of Georgia (U.S. state) Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Warm Springs, Georgia
Built	1932
Part of	Warm Springs Historic District (ID74000694)
Designated CP	July 30, 1974

The Little White House was a special getaway for Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was the 32nd president of the United States. This house is in Warm Springs, Georgia.

Roosevelt first visited Warm Springs in 1924. He was looking for treatment for polio, a sickness that affected his legs. He loved the area so much that he decided to build a home there. The house was finished in 1932. Even after he became president, he kept using it as a quiet place to work and relax.

Sadly, President Roosevelt passed away in this house on April 12, 1945. This was just three months into his fourth term as president. Today, the Little White House is a museum. It opened to the public in 1948. A famous painting called the "Unfinished Portrait" is on display there. An artist was painting it when he died. The State of Georgia now runs the site. It is known as the Little White House Historic Site.

The Story of the Little White House
Life at the Retreat
President Roosevelt's Last Days
Visiting Today
Gallery
See also

The Story of the Little White House

A historic photo of the Little White House

FDR at the Little White House in April 1945

Roosevelt's chair by the fireplace

The Walk of Flags and Stones

The Little White House in 1933

Another view of the Little White House in 1933

People from Georgia started visiting Warm Springs a long time ago. They came in the late 1700s to escape sickness. The warm natural springs were very popular. Later, in the late 1800s, people from Atlanta also came to relax. They traveled by train to reach the area.

In 1921, when he was 39, Franklin D. Roosevelt got polio. This illness made it hard for him to use his legs. He found that warm water helped ease his pain. He enjoyed bathing and exercising in it. In October 1924, he visited Warm Springs for the first time. He found a resort with a natural spring that was always 88 degrees Fahrenheit.

Roosevelt bought the resort and the land around it in 1927. This resort later became the Roosevelt Warm Springs Institute for Rehabilitation. Five years later, in 1932, he became president. He then had a small, six-room house built on his property. This house was made of Georgia pine. It became his special retreat during his presidency. People started calling it the Little White House.

Life at the Retreat

Roosevelt visited the Little White House 16 times while he was president. He usually stayed for two or three weeks. It took a whole day to travel there from Washington, D.C., by train.

The Little White House is a simple, six-room home. It is built in the Colonial Revival style. Three rooms were bedrooms: one for him, one for his wife Eleanor, and one for his secretary. The house also had an entrance hall, a living room, and a kitchen. Other buildings were added later. These included a garage and a guesthouse.

During World War II, Roosevelt's visits changed. He did not go in 1942 because he was busy with the war. He visited more often from 1943 to 1945. This was because sailing, which he loved, was too dangerous during wartime. Soldiers from Fort Benning were even stationed at the Little White House. They helped patrol the woods around the property.

President Roosevelt's Last Days

Roosevelt's last trip to the Little White House was on March 30, 1945. He felt he needed more rest than he got at his home in Hyde Park. People who saw him in Warm Springs said he looked very tired. He did not use the swimming pool as he usually did.

On April 12, 1945, he was sitting for a portrait. Suddenly, he became very ill. President Roosevelt passed away two hours later. He died from a brain hemorrhage.

After his death, most of his property went to a foundation. This foundation took control of the properties in 1948. Later, other important people used the property. Both John F. Kennedy in 1960 and Jimmy Carter in 1976 used it for their presidential campaigns. Jimmy Carter even started his campaign there.

Visiting Today

Today, the Little White House is a Georgia state park. It is open for everyone to visit. The house has been kept just as it was on the day Roosevelt died. All the buildings and furniture are original.

You can see many interesting things there. These include the "Unfinished Portrait." You can also see his special 1938 Ford convertible car. His old stagecoach is also on display.

In 2011, a fire destroyed two cottages on the Roosevelt Institute Hospital grounds. Investigators believed lightning caused the fire.