Born in a two-room cottage, Herbert Hoover could have been any small town boy. Orphaned at age nine, he left West Branch, never to live here again. The landscape and buildings of the early years remain, however, to tell how family, faith, education, and hard work opened a world of opportunity—even the presidency of the United States—to a child of simple beginnings.
The future president was born in a small, two-room cottage in 1874. Today the Birthplace Cottage, along with other historic buildings associated with his early childhood in West Branch, is the centerpiece of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The site is adjacent the historic district of downtown West Branch.
Herbert Hoover, the first President born west of the Mississippi River, was born in a small two-room cottage on August 10, 1874.
Herbert's father Jesse and grandfather Eli Hoover built the cottage in 1871. The Hoover family lived in it until 1879.
The little house was near the center of the small but growing town of West Branch. Jesse and his wife Hulda hosted family gatherings and church group meetings here.
In the 1930's, President and Mrs. Hoover purchased and restored the cottage, which Hoover said was "physical proof of the unbounded opportunity of American life."
Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover are buried on a hillside overlooking the president's birthplace. The landscape of the National Historic Site celebrates and commemorates Herbert Hoover's accomplishments and ideals.
Herbert Hoover died on October 20, 1964 and was laid to rest five days later in this quiet hillside overlooking the cottage where he was born. He was ninety years old.
His wife Lou Henry Hoover, who died in 1944 and was buried in California, was moved to rest beside her husband shortly after his burial.
The simple stones of Vermont marble are in keeping with the Quaker ideal of simplicity. The view of the Birthplace Cottage is the central vista in a landscape that commemorates Hoover's Iowa childhood and his adulthood achievements.
A little piece of interesting trivia about Herbert Hoover is he was the 31st President of the United States. During the last years of his life he lived on the 31st floor of the Astoria Hotel in New York City. His neighbors included Douglas MacArthur and Lucky Luciano.
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
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