Gravesite of President & Mrs. Hoover

The president's and first lady's graves are marked with simple marble slabs.

NPS Photo/Patricia McInroy

Quick Facts

Location:

West Branch, Iowa

Significance:

Burial Place of President Herbert Hoover & First Lady Lou Henry Hoover

Amenities

9 listed

Audio Description, Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Drinking/Potable, Wheelchair Accessible

"The story is a great one and it is a good one. It is essentially a story that is triumphant."

D. Elton Trueblood, Graveside Eulogy of President Hoover

When he died on October 20, 1964 at the age of 90, the 31st President was laid to rest five days later in this quiet, grassy hillside. More than 100,000 people lined the funeral procession route from Cedar Rapids to West Branch on that warm fall day. 

Herbert Hoover wrote of West Branch, "My grandparents and my parents came here in a covered wagon. In this community they toiled and worshipped God. The most formative years of my boyhood were spent here. My roots are in this soil."

Simple Design

Iowa architect William Wagner designed the memorial while working closely with the Hoover family to commemorate his life. The two plainly inscribed ledger stones of Vermont white marble are in keeping with the Quaker ideal of simplicity. Across the curved walkway, the American flag waves in tribute. Did you know that it was Herbert Hoover who signed the congressional resolution making The Star Spangled Banner the national anthem during his Presidency? 

View of Simple Beginnings

Beyond the flagpole, on the horizon at the end of the two rows of trees, is a direct view of the white, wood-frame cottage where Herbert Hoover was born. The first President born west of the Mississippi River, Hoover believed that anyone could start from simple beginnings and achieve great things. 

Burial of Lou Hoover

The second marble gravestone is for Lou Henry Hoover, the tireless and talented First Lady from Waterloo, Iowa. Following her death in 1944, she was buried in Palo Alto, California, but was moved to rest beside her husband in 1964. Partners in life for almost forty-five years, they had both come back to touch the Iowa soil.

• Returning to the Iowa Soil

  
  

  Herbert Hoover wrote of West Branch, "My grandparents and my parents came here in a covered wagon. In this community they toiled and worshipped God. The most formative years of my boyhood were spent here. My roots are in this soil." When Hoover died in 1964 at the age of 90, he was laid to rest in this quiet, grassy hillside.

  Credit / Author:

  NPS

  Date created:

  01/15/2021

  Audio Transcript

  Hoover: (actor) "My grandparents and my parents came here in a covered wagon. In this community they toiled and worshipped God. The most formative years of my boyhood were spent here. My roots are in this soil." (music) Those words from his memoirs, illustrate Herbert Hoover's connection to history and place. When Hoover died on October 20, 1964 at the age of 90, the 31st President was laid to rest five days later in this quiet, grassy hillside. More than 100,000 people lined the funeral procession route from Cedar Rapids to West Branch on that warm fall day. Iowa architect William Wagner designed the memorial while working closely with the Hoover family to commemorate his life. The tall stand of chestnut, hickory, and black walnut trees planted behind the gravesite were chosen because Hoover remembered them from his childhood. The two plainly inscribed ledger stones of Vermont white marble are in keeping with the Quaker ideal of simplicity. Across the curved walkway, the American flag waves in tribute. Did you know that it was Herbert Hoover who signed the congressional resolution making The Star Spangled Banner the national anthem during his Presidency? Now take a moment and look past the towering flagpole. There on the horizon, at the end of the two rows of trees, is a direct view of the white, wood-frame cottage where Herbert "Bertie" Hoover was born. As the first President born west of the Mississippi River, Hoover believed that anyone could start from simple beginnings and achieve great things. Pete Hoover reflects on the qualities that not only made his grandfather so successful, but encouraged the success of others. Pete Hoover: "Granddad was an interesting guy to be around. There was not a subject that you could raise that he couldn't contribute something on. He never commandeered the conversation. He could contribute to it and do it in an unobtrusive way so that people would understand and learn a little maybe." The second marble gravestone is for Lou Henry Hoover, the tireless and intelligent First Lady from Waterloo, Iowa. Following her death in 1944, she was buried in Palo Alto, California, but was moved to rest beside her husband in 1964. Partners in life for almost forty-five years, they had both come back to touch the Iowa soil.