Eleanor Roosevelt’s Val-kill

“….the greatest thing I have learned is how good it is to come home again.”
This simple statement expresses her love for her modest house near the Hudson River, the only home that was ever hers.

The only National Historic Site dedicated to a First Lady, Val-Kill welcomes you as Mrs. Roosevelt welcomed her many guests. Visitors may tour Mrs. Roosevelt's Val-Kill Cottage and enjoy the lovely gardens and grounds on the site. Be sure to see the brand new introductory film “Close to Home”.

In this setting she received some of the most important world leaders of the time. Nikita Khrushchev, Marshall Tito, Halie Selassie and Jawaharial Nehru all came to Hyde Park to see Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s grave and to pay their respects to his widow. She also played hostess to Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy.
This unassuming woman earned the title-in the words of President Harry S. Truman- “First Lady of the World”.