FDR
first came to Warm Springs, Georgia, during the fall of
1924, searching for a way to combat the polio that had left
his legs paralyzed. He had heard from a friend who had just
moved to Warm Springs that a young man who also had polio
had begun to improve after swimming in the warm salt water.
Eager to try anything that might help his lame legs gain
strength, FDR traveled to Georgia, rented rooms at the Merriwether
Inn and swam daily in the public pool 500 yards across from
the inn. Soon, for the first time since his paralysis, FDR
felt life in his toes and could walk unassisted in four-feet-deep
water.(1) Amazed by the water's
recuperative powers, FDR stayed for three weeks and worked
with a local doctor, Dr. James Johnson, to develop a training
regimen they hoped would improve his muscles.
FDR so loved his time in Warm Springs that he had a simple,
white, wooden cottage built overlooking a wooded, deep
ravine. He moved
into his vacation home May 1, 1932 and invited all the "residents
of Warm Springs" and all "the patients, employees, and
cottagers"
to a housewarming party to be held on May 5th.
After FDR won the 1932 election, the cottage quickly was
dubbed "the Little White House" and President Roosevelt
continued to revel in his time there. Away from the incessant
glare of the press and political observers, FDR could swim,
recuperate, play and work in a place he adored. As much
as FDR loved to visit with the locals and show off his
home to international guests, he also called his advisors
down
to Georgia for legislative strategy meetings. For example,
the National Bank Holiday and the Rural Electrification
bills were first discussed at the Little White House
After returning from the Yalta Conference and opening
the United Nations conference in San
Francisco, FDR decided to go to his Little White House for
some rest. Arriving on March 30, 1945, tired but in good
spirits, he spent time with friends, worked on his stamp
collection, and tried to rest. April 12th, thirteen
days after his arrival, he complained of a "terrific headache,"
and died from a cerebral hemorrhage.
(2)
Notes:
- Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt:
A Rendezvous with Destiny. Little, Brown and Company:
New York, 1990, 46.
- Ibid., 605.
Sources:
Freidel, Frank. Franklin D. Roosevelt: A Rendezvous
with Destiny. New York: Little, Brown and Company,
1990, 110, 124, 602-607.
For more information on the Little White House, visit the following web site: