Ever heard of Dutchess County, New York?
It’s a stunning part of the Hudson River Valley about 90 minutes north of Manhattan via train. I actually flew into Albany, New York, grabbed a rental car and drove down to the Rhinebeck area in a little over an hour.
I’ve spent my whole day in Hyde Park, the area famous for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt home and Presidential Library, getting to know the Roosevelts and the Vanderbilts — and then making a wonderful visit to the Culinary Institute of America. I’ll be sharing ALL of this with you in a longer post later.
Today for my road journal, I want to focus on Eleanor Roosevelt. Why? Well . . . I’ve always been fascinated by this great woman, and today, I feel like I found her in the most profoundly personal way.
Eleanor’s home at Val-Kill is the only national historic site dedicated to a First Lady — but of course, she was so much more than the wife of one of our presidents.
From her position as the first United States delegate to the United Nations, to chairing the U.N. committee on human rights, to being a tireless activist for the Civil Rights movement, she did so many things following her time in the White House.
FDR purchased the Val-Kill property in 1911, but Eleanor first became familiar with it in the early 1920’s, when the family used to take picnics along Fall Kill, a creek not far from the Roosevelt home, Springwood.
In 1925, they built a small stone cottage there (shown above). It became a casual and comfortable retreat for the Roosevelts and their friends, from their much more formal life at Springwood mansion, AND where Franklin’s mother lived until her death in 1941.
In addition to the Stone Cottage, there was a larger building that housed Val-Kill Industries — a testing ground for FDR’s idea for “small industries that could keep farming viable during hard economic times.” This became one of Eleanor’s projects. She built a workshop for Val-Kill Industries to run training programs to teach handcrafts, such as furniture-making, metalwork and weaving, which ran for nine years. In 1936, when the project shut down, Eleanor converted it into a home — which she called “her cottage of twenty rooms.”
Following her husband’s death in 1945, Val-Kill Cottage became Eleanor’s permanent home.
I think the thing that struck me most profoundly was how human, livable, and casual Eleanor’s home is. She often entertained world leaders here right along with family. So when one of her grandsons came streaking in from the swimming pool to use the bathroom near her study, she simply waved her hand at Madame Chiang Kai Shek and said she would introduce him on his way back out.
It was here that Senator John F. Kennedy came, seeking Eleanor’s endorsement for his presidential candidacy. They sat in the two wingback chairs in the back corner of her living room (below) when she talked about the Civil Rights cause — and that it had to be a central part of his administration’s stated plan — or she would not support him.
So those two wingbacks. A living room that I think would make many of us would feel right at home . . . and JFK and Civil Rights.
Eleanor Roosevelt. A truly great leader of the 20th century, and today, I felt so honored to get a small glimpse into her world.
I’m currently on the road in Dutchess County, New York, and this is one of the daily (or nearly daily 
), short posts along the way.
Journal entries are just that — quick, in the moment, on the road posts — rough, barely edited, and on the go. Look for finished articles everywhere else on my blog!
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I’m fascinated by First Ladies as well! Their personalities are as equally interesting as their husbands! And I do love visiting historical homes and imagining the lives of the people who lived there!
As Sarah mentioned above, I would love to see something dedicated to Michelle Obama. I thought of her a lot as I was reading this. Two amazing examples of First Ladies who were/are so much more than just the President’s wife. What a cool experience to visit here!
It is fascinating to see a national historic site dedicated to a First Lady! The house is so well maintained and so lo-key. I love how it give us, ordinary people, a peek into history and her private life!
I think the thing that surprised me, after seeing the Roosevelt family home, was how very casual Eleanor’s house is — so very normal and people-sized — not some great, grand place that makes you separate or different from her.
Val-Kill? I had never heard of the place until this post. I love to learn about these people who have written their names into history and then see how they truly just live normal lives. I have this saying, “we all poop on the same pot”, lol – just proves how much this is true, lol.
That is true 🙂 .
You are right that Eleanor Roosevelt was so much more than the wife of one of our presidents – she was an amazing activist and politician in her own right. However I think more first ladies deserve national historic sites. I for one would love to visit a historical site dedicated to Betty Ford, who was a ballerina and an activist for women’s rights. And I mean Michelle Obama…. who wouldn’t visit a national historic site dedicated to her?? (Okay, some people wouldn’t, but I’d love to!!).
Yes, Eleanor Roosevelt was an inspiring activist. When you read about Val-Kill, it’s disturbing to understand how close it came to NOT being turned into NPS site.
I agree with you about Betty Ford. And — I would love to see a site dedicated to Michelle Obama. What a strong and inspirational woman she is.
How I would love to have been a fly on the wall to hear the JFK / Eleanor Roosevelt discussion on civil rights. There are so many things we just take for granted these days that were revolutionary 50 years ago. Two chairs that definitely have a story to tell.
I feel the same way. I really wanted to walk past the rope and into the room. It would be nice to sit quietly and imagine the two of them there.
I don’t think I ever knew the FDR Presidential Library was in that area of NY. I knew it was in NY but I guess I never thought about where exactly. So cool that Eleanor has the only national historic site dedicated to a First Lady…also a fact I didn’t know. I love the cottage, it’s beautiful and really looks like something of today’s time. She was definitely an extraordinary woman!
Yes, it’s maybe 1.5 hour train ride out of Penn Station in NYC. And what a gorgeous train trip! It skirts the Hudson River all the way up.
Very cool! Val-Kill looks small enough to really give you a sense of their lives there. Fascinating peek into their lives! And the view of the Hudson River at daybreak is absolutely stunning!