Herbert Hoover National Historic Site - Birthplace Cottage (U.S. National Park Service)

A small white cottage with pink-flowering bushes in the foreground.

NPS Photo

Herbert Hoover was born in this two-room cottage in 1874.

Corner of an interior room with white wooden walls and wooden furniture: two chairs, a high chair, a tall cupboard, and a shelf with books and a clock.

NPS Photo

The antique furnishings of the Birthplace Cottage commemorate the simple lifestyle of the young Hoover family.

Birthplace Cottage

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."

Hoover Houses and Community Structures, 1971 by NPS historian Edwin C. Bearss, is an official NPS study of the Birthplace Cottage, Friends Meetinghouse, Schoolhouse, House of the Maples (Second Hoover Home), and other buildings associated with the National Historic Site.

Accessibility

The Birthplace Cottage may be entered only through the front door. There are three entrance steps to the front door. An audio station is available inside the front door. A photograph book showing the interior is available both at the cottage and the Visitor Center information desk.

A ramp allows visitors access to the back porch where the interior of the cottage may be viewed.

Take a Virtual Tour

This is a stop on the virtual tour of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

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