Exploring the Eisenhower National Historic Site: A Journey Through History
The Eisenhower National Historic Site is in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania’s rolling, unassuming countryside. The park offers a unique look into the life and legacy of General and President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Just a short distance from the famous Gettysburg Battlefield, this historic estate served as a retreat for the 34th president and his wife, Mamie Eisenhower. Then, General Eisenhower and Mamie purchased the farm in 1950. In 1953, when Eisenhower assumed the presidency, the farm provided them with a peaceful respite from the pressures of political life.
The farm was more than just a place for the First Family to relax. Eisenhower used the farm to meet with many world leaders.
“When my father was president, he developed the habit of bringing visiting world leaders to the farm. Such informality, he reasoned, would make them feel at home.” – John Eisenhower
The list of people who visited the Eisenhower Farm reads like a who’s who of the Cold War. British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill visited on May 7, 1959. Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, visited the farm on September 29, 1959. Others include Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany, French President Charles de Gaulle, and Eisenhower’s Vice President Richard Nixon, who visited several times. On at least two occasions, Eisenhower personally led his distinguished guests on tours of the adjacent Gettysburg Battlefield.
Today, the site is a testament to Eisenhower’s leadership, military career, and personal life. My wife and I visited on a fall day. We arrived early, but we were not the first people there. I was surprised to find a few dozen people waiting to tour the home and property.
Touring the Eisenhower Home and Farm
Checking in with a ranger, we reserved our spots for a home tour. The tours are first come, first served and fill up quickly, especially during the busy summer and fall seasons. The Eisenhower home is not always open for tours, so you want to check the park service website for times.
“It is the only home, truly ours” – President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Soon, our tour began. We started with the Eisenhower home. This was the only home they ever owned. When they bought it in 1950, they had already been married for 34 years. But this is not the first home they ever lived in in Gettysburg. In 1918, Ike, Mamie, and their baby boy Doud lived in Gettysburg while he was stationed at Fort Colt. Tragically, Doud would pass from scarlet fever a few years later.
The Living Room
Entering the home, the first room is the formal living room. This room was a bit stuffy for the Eisenhowers and is still filled with gifts they received from heads of state and friends.
On the piano is a photo of Queen Elizabeth, her husband, Prince Philip, and their two oldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne. It was a gift to Eisenhower and signed by the Queen and Prince Phillip.
The yellow velvet chair, which dominates a good portion of the living room, was a gift from Mamie’s mother, Elivera Doud. Mamie was extremely close to her mother. There is a portrait of her in the living room. She often stayed with them until she died in 1960. She has her own room in the home.
On the walls hang portraits of Ike and Mamie with a glass-encased cupboard filled with items between them. On top of the cupboard, I could not help but notice what looked like glass figurines of General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee. Both were on horseback and looking at each other.
Speaking of Grant, a fireplace sitting in front of a Persian rug that was a gift from Iranian Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi is a fireplace. This marble fireplace used to be in the East Room of the White House until the Grant Administration ripped it out. One hundred years after it was first installed in the White House, Ike’s staff would locate the piece and present it to the Eisenhowers as a 38th wedding anniversary gift.
Sun Porch
As we left the living room, we entered the sun porch. In contrast to the formal living room, the rest of the house is not extravagant. It shows what the Eisenhower’s were like as normal people.
The sun porch is modest and comfortable. It was the Eisenhower’s favorite room. On the porch Ike and Mamie watched TV, played cards with friends, and the General painted.
Eisenhower took up painting in 1948, and it quickly became one of his favorite hobbies. He preferred to paint on the sun porch where the light was best. There is a reproduction of his unfinished Culzean Castle in Scotland painting that rests on his original easel. He had started this landscape scene in the fall of 1967, but a heart attack left him unable to finish.
While the sunporch was generally used for visiting family and friends. It was also the setting for one of the most important meetings of Eisenhower’s presidency. In the chairs that are still on the porch, President Eisenhower sat with Soviet Union Premier Nikkita Khrushchev at the height of the Cold War. The meeting, in September 1959, included the Eisenhower grandchildren and, for a moment, saw a thaw in tensions between the East and West.
Entrance Hall
Next was the Entrance Hall. Mamie asked all visitors, from world leaders to the Eisenhower grandchildren, to sign her guest book in the entrance hall. The book is still in the hallway in a glass case. Above it is the West Point portrait of John Eisenhower, Ike, and Mamie’s only child to live to adulthood. His portrait originally hung in the White House, and it came to Gettysburg when the Eisenhowers left Washington.
A small cabinet has a collection of personal items that Mamie loved. Among them are plastic figurines of presidents and first ladies that she collected from cereal boxes.
Dining Room
Just off the entryway is the fourth room of the tour, the dining room. While Ike and Mamie preferred to dine on TV trays on the sun porch; when family or friends visited, dinner was served in the formal dining room.
Looking across the dining room, you see a silver tea service set. While Eisenhower was a Major in the Army, he bought Mamie this silver tea service that sits on the buffet today.
Using his poker winnings to help fund the gifts, he bought each piece individually. The Wilcox Silver Plate Division of the International Silver Company made it. How about this for sweet? Each piece is engraved “DDE to MDE” for Dwight David Eisenhower and Mamie Doud Eisenhower.
After checking out the dining room and entry, it’s time to head upstairs. The “United States” wallpaper along the stairs reminds you that you are in a president’s home. Mamie hand-picked it out. It features the Great Seal of the United States and the seals of 49 states, all except Alaska. It is still the original wallpaper from 1955.
Mrs. Doud’s Room
Mamie’s mother, Mrs. Doud’s room, is the first you to come up the stairs. After she passed in 1960, it served as a guest room. A picture of Doud Dwight Eisenhower, Ike, and Mamie’s first child sits on the back dresser. Doud, nicknamed “Icky,” passed away at three. This is the only picture of him in the home.
In the hall, outside of her room, is a painting by Eisenhower. Called “The Mexican,” he painted it in 1953. Mamie loved the painting too much to let him give it away; keeping it on display in their home.
The Sitting Room
Walking into the sitting room, one of the first things I noticed was another painting hanging on the wall. Eisenhower finished painting the snow-covered landscape called Winter, St. Louis Creek while recovering from his 1955 heart attack. This painting was another one of Mamie’s favorites. St. Louis Creek in Colorado was one of his favorite fly-fishing spots. The drapes in the room are made from “Eisenhower Toile” fabric. It was during his presidency and features significant places in his life.
The General’s Room
The General’s room is next. It was used as his dressing room and sparsely decorated. After a doctor told him to take afternoon naps, he used this room. The portrait he painted of his two oldest grandchildren hangs over the bed. The nightstand next to the bed is made of wood from a sycamore tree that once stood on the grounds of the White House.
Mamie’s Dressing Room and Bath
Down a short hall is Mamie’s dressing room and bath. Mamie loved the color pink, which is very clear from the pink bathroom. A table in the adjacent dressing room is covered with her pearls and perfumes.
What immediately caught my eye was the senior photo of West Point Cadet Eisenhower. On it, he wrote, “To the dearest and sweetest girl in the world.” The sentimental Mamie always had the photo on her dressing table, no matter where they lived.
Eisenhower’s Main Bedroom
This was where Mamie spent much of her time. She loved the views of the farm from the bedroom. She suffered a lifelong heart condition due to a childhood bout of rheumatic fever. She would prop herself up in bed and use a writing desk to correspond with staff and friends. The writing desk still sits on the bed with paper and pen.
After Ike passed, she piled his side of the bed with books, stationery, and candy so it would not seem so empty.
Above the fireplace is a portrait of the Eisenhowers’ three oldest grandchildren, David, Anne, and Susan. The painting was a Christmas present from Ike to Mamie. The gift shows the deep affection the couple had for their grandchildren.
Despite being born into a wealthy family, money was tight when Mamie married a young Army Officer. She saved for more than two years to buy the Sheraton chest of drawers in the room. It was still a prized possession when they moved into the Gettysburg farm. It always reminded her of the happy years when they were young but also of the hardships along the way.
Above the dresser hangs a portrait of their youngest granddaughter, Mary Jean Eisenhower.
Maid’s Room
Down the hall to the maid’s room. Some of the Eisenhower’s earliest furniture was used in this room by Mamie’s personal maid, Rose Wood, who stayed in this room until she retired in 1962.
Guest Rooms: Yellow and Red Room
Following the maid’s room, you come to the guest rooms. These are where guests, partially the grandchild, would stay when they visited. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, was the most famous person to stay in the guest rooms. Nehru visited in December 1956 and was the only world leader to stay at the farm overnight.
Walking the hallway to the yellow and red rooms, you see four of Eisenhower’s paintings. He described his paintings, especially the landscapes and still lifes on display here, as “daubs, born of my love of color and in my pleasure in experimenting, nothing else.”
Next, we headed back down the stairs to see the remainder of the home.
Laundry Room
Downstairs, we came to the laundry room. Sergeant John Moaney and his wife, Delores, were employed as the valet and cook. In this room Sgt. Moaney washed, repaired, and ironed the General’s clothes. Moaney worked behind the scenes, helping the president maintain his appearances.
John and Delores Moaney’s Room
Sgt. Moaney and his wife lived next to the laundry room. Sgt. John Moaney was also a World War II veteran. He first served on General Eisenhower’s staff in 1942. John and Ike hit it off immediately and developed a close bond. That bond and friendship lasted the rest of the war, and their lives. John remained on Eisenhower’s staff for decades. In 1946, John married Delores Butler. She would join him in working for the Eisenhowers, becoming a cook and aide to the family. Even after Ike died in 1969, the Moaneys stayed with Mamie. John died in 1976, and Delores passed in 2014.
The Kitchen
Next, we headed to the kitchen. Better Homes and Gardens described it as the kitchen of the future in the mid-1950s. Its linoleum counters and Crosley refrigerator in the pantry certainly reflect the 1950s style.
General Eisenhower enjoyed cooking and would do so both here and at the barbecue outside. Soups, stews, and Pennsylvania Dutch breakfasts were some of his favorites to make.
Mamie, not so much. She had a reputation for avoiding cooking, except for fudge and mayonnaise, so the kitchen mostly was Delores Moaney’s domain. She rarely prepared gourmet dishes, opting for basic American fare since that is what Ike and Mamie preferred.
Beloved by the family, Delores worked for three generations of Eisenhowers. The children, as Delores called the Eisenhower grandchildren, used a notepad on the spice cabinet in the corner to write all kinds of notes for her when they visited.
The Den
The Kitchen leads to the dining room and the den. The Eisenhowers wanted to preserve part of the original farmhouse, and this desire is evident in the den. The old fireplace and oven were salvaged from the summer kitchen near the house, and salvaged wood from the old house was repurposed in the floor and ceiling construction.
Ike spent many relaxing hours reading and playing bridge here with friends. The Civil War pike and musket above the fireplace, the red lamp decorated with fishing flies, and the art books in the bookcase reflect Ike’s interests.
The Gettysburg Battlefield map on the western wall of the Den was a gift from Vice President Nelson Rockefeller. Eisenhower was deeply interested in the Battle of Gettysburg and Civil War history, frequently taking his farm guests on battlefield tours.
Eisenhower’s Office
President Eisenhower collectively spent more than one year of presidency in Gettysburg. His office was where he worked while at home. The office and the den became a “temporary White House” while President Eisenhower recuperated from his 1955 heart attack.
The room’s simplicity reflects the down-to-earth nature that served Eisenhower so well as one of the world’s great soldiers and statesmen.
His yellow pine desk is made from floorboards removed from the White House. The desk is fashioned after one used by George Washington.
A portrait of Abraham Lincoln hangs behind the desk, always looking over Ike’s shoulder as he worked for the American people. Lincoln was one of Eisenhower’s heroes.
Touring the Grounds
The office wrapped up the home tour, and we headed outside to explore the grounds. We headed to the left to check out the Tea House and barbeque, garden, and greenhouses.
The Tea House and Barbeque were where the Eisenhowers often entertained guests. Their daughter-in-law, Barbara Eisenhower, said it “was considered a big treat to have a steak cookout down there.” The garden and greenhouses used to grow fresh produce and flowers are located just behind the Tea House.
Next we decided to walk back towards the show bar. Along the way, we passed many original buildings, including the Herdsman’s House, today the park’s headquarters. We also walked by the maternity barn, breeding and tool shed, and corn crib.
Show Barn
The show barn was built in 1957 to house cattle and groom them and prepare them for the show. It also played another important role.
President Eisenhower used the show barn as a diplomatic tool throughout his presidency and into retirement for “barnyard diplomacy.” By showing off his prized cattle to world leaders, Eisenhower created an atmosphere that made world leaders feel welcome and at ease around him. Ike’s son John would say this of barnyard diplomacy. “Dad preferred to take visitors over to the show barn to his ribbons. Dad would climb into the corral with this bull and poke him in the rump with his shotgun until the bull would stand up. The Secret Service was petrified but didn’t dare protest. Visiting dignitaries soon got the word of such favored treatment, so everybody had to be brought to the farm.”
Another story we particularly enjoyed was about Winston Churchill’s visit to the Gettysburg Farm in May of 1959. The Secret Service became worried for Churchill’s safety during a walk through the show barn with Eisenhower. Churchill kept slapping the cattle on the haunches, prompting the concern.
While farming was essentially a hobby of Eisenhower, it was one he was clearly passionate about. John Eisenhower was telling the truth about the ribbons! Walking through the show barn, you can see dozens of ribbons and banners for winning awards at the Pennsylvania Farm Show and other state fairs.
The Putting Green
After leaving the show barn, we walked back towards the house to look at the putting green. President Eisenhower was an avid golfer. Know this about the president: the PGA (Professional Golfers’ Association of America) had a putting green installed at the Gettysburg farm. At Mamie’s request, it was built on the east end of the house so she could see it from the sun porch.
The Secret Service Office
From here, we walked back towards the reception center. Passing the guest house, helicopter pad, and Secret Service Office along the way.
The Secret Service Office was interesting. They used this small cinder block building during and beyond his presidency. It still had equipment, which was the most up-to-date technology at the time, and included cameras to keep an eye on the property. The office was also used to store the nuclear launch codes in a secure location.
Afterward, we returned to the reception center, ready to catch the shuttle bus back to our car.
Getting There
The Eisenhower National Historic Site is accessible only by shuttle bus from the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. The shuttle ride takes just a few minutes and allows you to appreciate the scenic landscape the Eisenhowers loved much.
Tips for Visiting
- Plan Ahead: The site is open seasonally, so check the National Park Service website for hours and ticket information.
- Allow Ample Time: A visit typically lasts two to three hours, allowing time for the house tour, farm walk, and exhibits.
- Bring a Camera: The scenic views, historic buildings, and Eisenhower memorabilia make for great photo opportunities.
Other Things to Do Nearby
Combine with Gettysburg: Since the site is near the Gettysburg Battlefield, consider combining both for a full day of historical exploration
The Eisenhower National Historic Site is a must-visit destination for folks like us who like to travel through, military enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the personal side of one of America’s most respected leaders. A visit to the Eisenhower National Historic Site offers an unforgettable journey through history.
