Near Wilton in Cedar County, Iowa — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Hoover Historic Site ⎯⎯⎯ Hoover’s West Branch
Photographed by Paul Crumlish, July 9, 2010
1. Hoover Historic Site / Hoover’s West Branch Marker
Inscription.
The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site, located in nearby West Branch, honors a distinguished son of Iowa, citizen of the world, and the 31st president of the United States. Established in 1965, the Site’s foundations were laid earlier when in 1937 family and friends began restoration of the two-room cottage where Mr. Hoover was born in 1874. The Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, constructed by the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation entirely with private funds, was dedicated in 1962. Two years late the Library. Containing Mr. Hoover’s personal papers and memorabilia, and its grounds were donated by the Foundation to the American people. In 1964, Mr. and Mrs. Hoover were buried at the presidential gravesite on a gentle knoll overlooking his birthplace cottage. The restored homes of West Branch circa 1880 and the Friends Meetinghouse where he worshiped as a boy, and a replica of the family blacksmith shop also recall the small Midwestern village which gave Herbert Hoover to the nation and the world. Administered by the National Park Service, the Herbert Hoover Historic Site is open daily to the public. (over)
“The
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most formative years of boyhood were spent here. My roots are in this soil.” The speaker of those words were Herbert Clark Hoover, orphan at 9, president of the United States at 54. The community so remembered is nearby West Branch, the village of his birth. The life he described as “filled with adventure and great undertakings, with good and comforting things” left an indelible mark upon the man whose life of public service earned him distinction the world over. Settled by the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in 1850, West Branch was founded in religious faith, in tolerance and in devotion to individual liberty. The soul’s welfare and mind’s development were its guiding principles. Hospitality was the first law of the family. Honest labor was no stranger. From West Branch, Herbert Hoover took with him the sense of fairness, belief in equal opportunity, faith in humanity, and personal integrity that were the hallmarks of his life. He once declared: “Within the soul of America is the freedom of mind and spirit”. Clearly, within the soul of Herbert Hoover lived the character of a small village called West Branch. (over)
Erected 1977
Photographed by Paul Crumlish, July 9, 2010
2. Wide view of the Hoover Historic Site / Hoover’s West Branch Marker
by Iowa State Historical Department, Division of the State Historical Society, the Iowa Department of Transportation and by the Hoover Presidential Library Association, Inc. (Marker Number 25.)
Location. 41° 38.523′ N, 91° 3.253′ W. Marker is near Wilton, Iowa, in Cedar County. It can be reached from Interstate 80 at milepost 270, 1 miles west of Rose Avenue (County Highway X64), on the right when traveling west. The marker is located at Rest Area 4 Westbound, .7 miles west of Exit 271 on Interstate 80. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wilton IA 52778, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Eastern Iowa. It is also in the American Midwest and in the Corn Belt. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Photographed by Paul Crumlish, July 10, 2010
3. Hoover Birthplace Cottage (1871)
The restored two-room cottage is now part of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.
Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Located on a hillside overlooking the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and Presidential Library and Museum.
Photographed by Paul Crumlish, July 10, 2010
5. The graves of President and Mrs. Hoover
Photographed by Paul Crumlish, July 10, 2010
6. Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum
Credits. This page was last revised on May 27, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 22, 2010, by PaulwC3 of Northern, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,556 times since then and 38 times this year. Last updated on May 26, 2023, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. submitted on July 22, 2010, by PaulwC3 of Northern, Virginia. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.
