Roosevelt Campobello International Park

I have visited Roosevelt Campobello International Park several times during my travels through the Maritime Provinces. I enjoy exploring presidential homes and historic sites, and this one is especially meaningful because it reveals a side of Franklin Delano Roosevelt that few presidential sites can capture. Rather than focusing on the years of power and leadership, Campobello tells the story of Roosevelt as a son, husband, father and young man enjoying summers with his family.  

For decades, the Roosevelt family returned to the cottage on Campobello Island to escape the pressures of everyday life. Here they sailed the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay, hiked the shoreline, entertained guests and enjoyed the simple routines of summer living. The cottage was filled with family gatherings, laughter and the activities that defined life in a coastal vacation community.

It was here, during the summer of 1921, that Roosevelt’s life changed forever.  While vacationing in Campobello, he became seriously ill with what was diagnosed as polio. Within days he lost the use of his legs. The disease ended the active, athletic lifestyle he had always enjoyed and forced him to confront challenges that would remain with him for the rest of his life.

Refusing to surrender to his physical limitations, Roosevelt spent years working to regain strength and independence. Although he would never walk unaided again, he returned to public life, became Governor of New York and eventually elected the thirty-second President of the United States.  

As I walked  through the cottage, I was reminded that before Roosevelt became president, he was a man enjoying summers with his family in a beautiful corner of New Brunswick. The furnishings, bedrooms, and gathering spaces tell a personal story. This is where he lived an ordinary family life.

Recognizing the importance of preserving this story, the governments of Canada and the United States worked together to create Roosevelt Campobello International Park in 1964, making it the only international park jointly administered by the two nations. 

Campobello allows visitors to see Franklin Roosevelt not only as a president, but as a husband, father and determined individual whose greatest test began at this quiet summer retreat overlooking the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay.