Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library
Location Staunton, Virginia, USA
Named for Woodrow Wilson
Management

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace
Location Staunton, Virginia
Coordinates 38°9′1″N 79°4′9″W / 38.15028°N 79.06917°WCoordinates: 38°9′1″N 79°4′9″W / 38.15028°N 79.06917°W
Built 1846
Architect Unknown
Architectural style Greek Revival
Governing body Private
NRHP Reference # 66000926[1]
VLR # 132-0004
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966
Designated NHL July 19, 1964[2]
Designated VLR September 9, 1969[3]

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library houses Woodrow Wilson materials from during and immediately after his lifetime, memoirs of those who worked with him, and governmental volumes concerning World War I.[4] The library is located at the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace, at 18–24 North Coalter Street in Staunton, Virginia.[5] The library is home to the Woodrow Wilson presidential car, a Pierce Arrow limousine.[6]

However, the President's actual papers are located at Princeton University's Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.

The Woodrow Wilson Birthplace is referred to as The Manse, which is the name of a Presbyterian minister's home. The Manse was constructed in 1846 by the Staunton First Presbyterian Church. It has twelve rooms with twelve fireplaces, and cost about $4,000 (equal to $104,993 today). The Wilson family moved into the house in 1855.[7] At that time the family only consisted of his two parents, Jessie Woodrow Wilson and Joseph Ruggles Wilson, and their two daughters Marion and Annie, who were about four and two years old, respectively.[7] Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in what is now called the "birth room" on December 28, 1856. The Wilsons left The Manse in early 1858 when Joseph Wilson accepted a call from a congregation in Augusta, Georgia.[8]

After the Wilsons moved out of The Manse it remained a Presybterian minister's home well into the 1920s. It was only after Woodrow Wilson's death that his widow, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, returned to Staunton with plans of creating a memorial. The house was restored to its 1850s look over the next 80 years, which included removing bathrooms, changing light fixtures, and stripping paint. Recently The Manse was restored to its original red brick, having been painted white for almost a century.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.[1] It is located in the Gospel Hill Historic District.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15.
  2. ↑ "Wilson, Woodrow, Birthplace". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
  3. ↑ "Virginia Landmarks Register". Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved 19 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: Learn at the Library". Woodrowwilson.org. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  5. ↑ "The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: Visit the Museum". http://www.woodrowwilson.org/visit. Retrieved 2015-04-04.
  6. ↑ "The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: Visit the Museum – Additional Information: The Pierce Arrow Limousine". http://www.woodrowwilson.org/museum/pierce-arrow. 2015-04-04. Retrieved 2015-04-04. http://www.woodrowwilson.org/museum/pierce-arrow
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library: Visit the Museum – Additional Information: The Manse". Woodrowwilson.org. Retrieved 2010-01-25.
  8. ↑ Frank S. Melvin (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Woodrow Wilson Birthplace" (PDF). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. and Accompanying photo

External links