Historical buildings and grounds of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

What became Herbert Hoover National Historic Site started in the early 1930s when Hoover’s wife, Lou Henry, decided to restore the small cottage in which her husband was born. The Hoovers bought the Birthplace Cottage in 1935, which at the time was no longer in its original location. It had been rotated in another direction, moved to the back of the lot, and used as a kitchen attached to a larger house by subsequent owners. Lou had the newer building torn down and the Hoover house moved back to its original position on the property.

In 1939, the Hoover Birthplace Society (HBS) was formed to maintain the house and fund expansion, and under stewardship of the society, the park grew to 28 acres. In 1954, the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation (HBF) was formed to assist the HBS. The two merged in 1957, incorporating under the HBF name.

The village that visitors to Herbert Hoover National Historic Site see today is not meant to be a recreation of West Branch when Herbert Hoover lived there from 1874 to 1885. Instead, it represents a typical Iowa farm town from the 1870s and 80s. There are four buildings that are open to visitors, eleven that are closed to the public, and 85 acres of restored tallgrass prairie that can be explored on a little over two miles of trails.

Three of the four buildings that are open to the public became part of the park in the HBS / HSF era. The Birthplace Cottage is of course the centerpiece. The Friends Meeting House (the Quaker equivalent of a church) is an original building from Hoover’s time that was moved from Downey Street on the north side of Main Street to the park grounds just before Hoover died in October 1964. The Jesse Hoover Blacksmith Shop is a reproduction of a typical blacksmith shop from the late 1800s, similar to what Herbert’s father, Jesse, owned. A fourth building, the West Branch Schoolhouse built in 1863, was moved to the park in the late 1960s by the West Branch Heritage Foundation and then donated to the park in 1971.

All buildings are furnished as they might have been when the Hoovers lived in West Branch. They are open during regular park hours, typically 9 AM to 5 PM each day. See the following web pages for more details about each building:

Birthplace Cottage

Blacksmith Shop

Friends Meeting House

West Branch Schoolhouse

ISIS STATUE

The Birthplace Cottage, West Branch Schoolhouse, and the Blacksmith Shop are all located near the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Visitor Center. The Friends Meeting House is about 75 yards south of the Birthplace Cottage on the other side of Hoover Creek. Across the street along the walkway to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is a statue of Isis that was a gift from Belgium to Hoover for his help in providing food to its people during World War I.

In 1914 when the war began, Hoover was a civilian millionaire living in London who helped organize relief for thousands of Americans who fled the European continent and ended up in London. The American ambassador took note of Hoover’s effort and asked him to organize food shipments to people in Belgium who were starving due to being stuck between the British naval blockade and the German Army that occupied the country (both the British and Germans agreed to allow the food to reach the civilians). Hoover created the Commission for Relief in Belgium for this purpose, and this eventually led to him being appointed United States Food Administrator by President Woodrow Wilson once America entered the war.

The statue was sculpted by Auguste Puttemans. It was meant to be placed at the birthplace of Hoover, but when it was finished in 1922, Hoover did not own the West Branch cottage anymore and had no real connection to the town. Therefore, it was shipped to Stanford University (both Herbert and Lou were alumni) where it was displayed in one of its libraries until the Hoovers had it moved to West Branch in 1939.

Isis statue on the grounds of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Inscription on the Isis statue at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

OTHER HISTORICAL BUILDINGS

Other attractions at the park that were created during the HSB / HBF era are the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, the Hoover Gravesite, and the picnic shelters. Due to financial issues, the HBF eventually turned to the federal government to take over the property, and in 1965 Herbert Hoover National Historic Site was created.

There are eleven other houses on park property, most on Downey and Poplar streets near the Visitor Center. They are not all from Hoover’s time at West Branch, and some were moved to the park from other locations in town. None are open to the public. They are either used as offices, for storage, or staff housing by the National Park Service and the Presidential Library, and some are leased to the public for office space.

The houses are typically named after the original owner. However, all of them had numerous owners over time. Other than the Varney House, all were purchased by the National Park Service in 1967.

HANNAH VARNEY HOUSE

The Hannah Varney House was built in 1899. Varney lived in it less than a year, though her daughters continued to occupy it until she sold the property in 1901. The house was purchased by the HBF in the early 1960s for inclusion in the park because it is a typical Iowan house from the late 1800s. In 1967 the house was moved from farther south on Downey Street to its current spot to fill in an empty lot.

Hannah Varney House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

DR. LEECH HOUSE

The Leech House was built in 1920 by Dr. L. J. Leech. He moved to West Branch in 1882, which is a couple of years before Herbert Hoover left for Oregon to live with relatives after his mother died (his father died in 1880). Leech opened a doctor’s office at this time, but there is no record of the Hoovers being a client. Before building his own house, he first rented and then acquired through foreclosure the Laban Miles house next door.

L. J. Leech House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

LABAN MILES HOUSE

The Laban Miles House belonged to Hoover’s aunt and uncle, Agnes and Laban Miles (Agnes was his mother’s sister). It was built c. 1870. When Herbert’s father died in 1880, he lived with the Mileses for a few months in this house. The Mileses left West Branch in 1878, but they kept the house and used it as a rental property. They eventually lost it to foreclosure, and it was purchased by Dr. Leech in 1885.

Laban Miles House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

AMANDA GARVIN HOUSE

The Amanda Garvin House was built in 1872. It is one of the oldest houses in the park. Garvin lost it to foreclosure in 1885.

Amanda Garvin House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

C. E. SMITH HOUSE

The C. E. Smith House was built in 1903. Smith actually lived in West Branch in the 1880s, so this was a newer house he built. It was moved to its current location in 1969 to fill in a vacant lot.

Charles E. Smith House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

STAPLES HOUSE

The Staples House on Poplar Street was built c. 1872 by J. M. Wetherell and used as a rental house. Wetherell owned five acres in West Branch, which he subdivided for real estate development. All houses on Poplar Street (Staples, Hayhurst, Wright, and Mackey) were built on Wetherell land. Even the Hoovers bought their land from him.

After Wetherell’s death in 1876, his wife sold the house to Dr. John Staples. The Staples owned it until the Doctor’s death in 1891, at which time his grandchildren inherited the property. They sold it shortly thereafter.

The house did not have an enclosed porch when Herbert Hoover lived in West Branch. It was added in the early 1900s. The house was renovated after my visit, and I believe the porch was removed (I can’t find a recent photo to confirm this).

Dr. John Staples House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

DAVID MACKEY HOUSE

The David Mackey House was built around 1870. His wife died in 1872, and Mackey sold the house in 1876. He remained in West Branch and became mayor in 1879, and was later named postmaster. As it stands today, the house is close to how it has always looked. It and the Wright House across the street are the two least-altered houses in the park.

David Mackey House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

HAYHURST HOUSE

The E. S. Hayhurst house was built c. 1872 on a lot purchased from J. M. Wetherell. The Hayhursts lived in West Branch until losing the house to foreclosure in 1878. The Hayhursts had taken a mortgage for the property from Wetherell himself, so after his widow repossessed the property, she used the house as a rental until selling it in 1890.

E. S. Hayhurst House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

MARY WRIGHT HOUSE

The Mary Wright House was built in 1874. She was married at the time, but supposedly her husband of thirteen years, Billy, had never divorced his first wife. To keep his property out of his real wife’s hands, everything was in Mary’s name. Billy owned a blacksmith shop and was for a time a competitor of Jesse Hoover.

The Wrights moved from West Branch in 1880 and then came back in 1885. While gone, they used the house as a rental property. Billy died in 1901, and Mary kept the house for another 19 years, finally selling it in 1920.

Mary Wright House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

P. T. SMITH HOUSE

The P. T. Smith House is located south of the Presidential Library on Downey Street. When Herbert Hoover came back to West Branch as an adult, it was the only house he remembered, including his own birth house. This is because it was across the street from the house his family bought in 1879, the House of the Maples (no longer in existence). He only lived in his birth house until he was four years old, whereas he lived across from the Smiths from the time he moved until he left West Branch at age eleven. He had fond memories of playing with the Smith children.

P. T. Smith House at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site (Photo by National Park Service / Adam Prato)

ISAAC MILES HOUSE

The Isaac and Esther Miles House is located away from all other houses at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. It is at the southeastern corner of the park near the westbound entrance ramp to I-80. Due to trees, it cannot be seen from the road. Those hiking the trails through the tallgrass prairie will pass by the house, but again, it cannot be seen. However, the barn that was built at the same time is in clear view.

The farm was purchased by Esther and Anna Bruff in 1868. When Anna died in 1873, she left a fourth of her share of the farm to Esther and the rest to other relatives. Anna acquired all the property from the relatives by 1872. She then married Isaac in 1877, and the two kept the farm until 1887. The house and barn were built in the late 1870s after the marriage. The last owner was the Greater Iowa Corporation, which sold the property to the National Park Service in 1967. The purchase included the tallgrass prairie land now part of the park.

Old barn on the Miles Farm at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

Back to the Top