Stone Cottage Visitor Center at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

THE STONE COTTAGE

The Visitor Center for Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site is housed in the Stone Cottage, the first structure built at Val-Kill. Franklin Roosevelt originally purchased the property in 1911, and the Roosevelt family and friends used it for picnicking and other recreational activities. In 1925, Eleanor and her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman decided to build a small house so they could stay longer. This resulted in the Stone Cottage being built in 1925-26, with the $12,000 construction cost totally financed by Eleanor, Nancy, and Marion.

Southwest-facing side of the Stone Cottage at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

The three women, along with another friend, Caroline O’Day, also decided to create Val-Kill Industries, a craft furniture business that would teach new skills to local people who worked in the agricultural industry, for these people had no work during the winter. Even before the Stone Cottage was completed, they began construction on a factory, a building that eventually became Eleanor’s personal residence, Val-Kill Cottage. The Stone Cottage, while still being a home for Eleanor and her friends, also became the office for the business.

Due to the economic situation brought on by the Great Depression, Val-Kill Industries closed in 1936. Cook and Dickerman, who pretty much lived in the Stone Cottage starting from the time it was built, continued living there until selling their share of Val-Kill to Eleanor in 1947 and moving to New Canaan, Connecticut, largely the result of a falling-out of friendship with Eleanor that began in the late 1930s. The cottage was then used as a guest house until the Roosevelt’s son, John, and his family moved to Val-Kill in the 1950s. They lived in the Stone Cottage, as Val-Kill Cottage remained Eleanor’s primary home until her death in 1962.

When originally built, the Stone Cottage had a living room, bedroom, bathroom, and a workshop on the first floor (the idea was to make furniture here), and a bedroom and bathroom on the second floor. After Val-Kill Industries closed, the second-floor bedroom was enlarged, and the workshop on the first floor was converted into a bedroom and bathroom. When John Roosevelt moved in, he added another small bedroom on the second floor and split the original bedroom on the first floor, which was quite large, into two bedrooms.

View of the Stone Cottage from the south side of Fall Kill, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

OPERATING HOURS

The buildings at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site, including the Stone Cottage Visitor Center, are open seasonally, typically from Memorial Day weekend through the end of December. When open, hours are from 9:30 AM to 4 PM every day. See the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for the current schedule.

PARKING

Parking is done in a paved lot .2 mile down the road from the historical buildings at Val-Kill. There is supposedly a tram that runs between the parking lot and the Val-Kill complex from May through October, but I didn’t see any tram when I visited on a Saturday in August. If you have a handicap parking permit, you can continue down the road and park right next to the buildings.

Prior to the main parking lot is an overflow lot in a field. If this is open and you don’t mind a little extra walk, in the summer this parking lot is much cooler than the main lot, which is asphalt. If you are the only one using it, you can pull your vehicle up under the trees for even more shade.

AMENITIES

• Information desk where you can pick up a park brochure and trail map
• Get free tickets for a guided tour of Val-Kill Cottage, Eleanor Roosevelt’s home
• Exhibit area
• A park film is shown in the nearby Playhouse
• Restrooms

PARK FILM

A 16-minute film about Eleanor Roosevelt is shown in the Playhouse, a small building near Val-Kill Cottage. The film shows on a loop, so visitors can stop by at any time to see it. While there is some mention of Val-Kill, the film’s main focus is the life and career of Eleanor. There is no objectionable material, so the film is suitable for all ages.

Small theater inside the Playhouse, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

What became known as the Playhouse was first built in 1928 and served as a three-car garage and tool shed. It was expanded in 1936 (as seen today) to hold the forge for pewtersmithig activities at Val-Kill Industries, but of course the business closed that same year. Eleanor leased the forge to a former employee who wanted to continue making pewter products, but even this came to an end once World War II started and raw materials were no longer available. She then began using the building for meetings, dances, and social events, and it was at this time that it became known as the Playhouse. It was eventually used as an office for a farm Eleanor ran at Val-Kill and as a guest house.

The Playhouse near Val-Kill Cottage, Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

EXHIBIT AREA

There are three rooms of exhibits inside the Stone Cottage Visitor Center. One room has an abbreviated timeline of Eleanor Roosevelt’s development of Val-Kill, as well as a video of various civil rights leaders praising Eleanor for her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. The video plays continuously on a loop.

Small exhibit room inside the Stone Cottage at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site covers Eleanor’s association with Val-Kill

The main room focuses on Val-Kill Industries. Along with written information is a display of some of the furniture and metal items produced at Val-Kill.

Val-Kill and Val-Kill Industries exhibit room inside the Stone Cottage Visitor Center at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Furniture produced by Val-Kill Industries on display inside the Stone Cottage Visitor Center at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

A third room has nothing in it but a loom used to create cloth for Val-Kill Industries. In addition to furniture making, the business expanded to include weaving.

One of Val-Kill Industries’ looms used for producing textiles on display inside the Stone Cottage Visitor Center at Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

The exhibit area inside the Stone Cottage is quite small. It takes about 30 minutes to read all of the information and watch the video presentations, though most people will just breeze through the rooms in a matter of minutes. Of course there is the film in the Playhouse that should not be missed. If you combine these two activities together, an hour should be plenty of time to spend learning about Eleanor Roosevelt and Val-Kill Industries. If your schedule allows it, try to do all of this before taking the tour of Val-Kill Cottage so that you have an idea about what the tour guide is talking about.

Back to the Top