Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Visiting Val-Kill in Hyde Park is special to me. Eleanor Roosevelt is a woman I admire, for her courage and for how she grew into the role she eventually played on the world’s stage.
Val-Kill was not created as a grand residence. In the 1920, it began as a small furniture workshop, part of Eleanor’s effort to support local craftspeople and community development. Over time, it evolved into her personal retreat, a place separate from the larger Roosevelt estate, where she could shape her own environment.
After the death of Franklin Roosevelt in 1945, this became her full-time home. It was here that she lived the remainder of her life.
The house itself is modent and reflects her values: practical, thoughtful and unpretentious. Yet within these walls, important work took place. This was the house where she wrote, where she continued her advocacy and where she met with dignitaries from around the world including world leaders and a young John F. Kennedy.
After her death in 1962, the significance of Val-Kill was recognized and preserved. The site was established as the Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site in 1977 and maintained by the National Park Service.
I have visited her home a few times and walking through her house and grounds it becomes clear how this is more than a residence. It is a reflection of the woman who lived here and her independence, purpose and her ability to shape a life that extended far beyond these quiet surroundings.
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