Roosevelt’s Little White House

With a day to spare I could not pass up the opportunity to visit this State Historic Site.  Warm Springs in 13 miles from the State Park. Franklin Roosevelt had developed polio in 1918.  He came to Warm Springs in 1924 seeking relief or even expecting recovery from his paralysed legs. He built a simple vacation cottage on the side of Pine Mountain while running for President in 1932. He spent many hours during his trips to Georgia visiting neighbours and learning of their difficulties especially during the Great Depression. It is said that these experiences provided him with ideas for New Deal policies such as the Rural Electrification Administration, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Tennessee Valley Authority.

He was introduced to the artist Elizabeth Shoumatoff by his long time friend Lucy Mercer. It was while Shoumatoff was painting his portrait in the presence of both of them that he suffered his fatal brain haemorrhages on April 12th 1945 at the Little White House.

There is an excellent museum, with an introductory movie narrated by Walter Cronkite.