When Eleanor Roosevelt died in 1962 in Hyde Park, New York, the world mourned at her loss not only as the wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), but in her own role as a prominent leading figure in women’s rights and advocacy for the rights of the poor, minorities and disadvantaged. She was born into the well-known Roosevelt family through her father Elliot, the younger brother of President Theadore Roosevelt and of Anna Hall, from the long-established Livingston family.

Eleanor’s parents both died when she was very young and she was raised in nearby Tivoli by her grandmother until it was determined she should go to England for her studies. At 18 she returned to New York and became involved with social work, teaching at the Rivington Street Settlement House. This was just the beginning of a lifetime of working on behalf of others.

Eleanor was active in the Red Cross during World War I and also worked with the navy hospitals. This also prepared her for one of her greatest roles, which was to be a caretaker for her husband when he was struck down with polio. However, Eleanor was still very much able to manage her responsibilities at home and with FDR, all the while forging her own path and relishing the independence to focus on projects and critical issues important to her. She continued to work with the League of Women Voters, and the Women’s Trade Union of NY State Democratic Committee.

FDR and Eleanor had a favorite picnic spot in Hyde Park and in 1924, she built with her friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman a cottage for them to enjoy. They wanted to establish a way to support the local community with developing trade opportunities and thus established Val-Kill Industries. They hired local furniture makers, metal crafters, weavers with success for a number of years, until the Great Depression made it financially impossible to continue.

When FDR died, she moved into Val-Kill and made it her primary residence. She continued to improve and develop the land, planting varieties of trees and adding several additional buildings on the property. Following FDR’s death, she became even more active in politics and her local community. Friends, family, and national and international leaders would call on Eleanor in her later years to visit and seek her advice on significant matters. She was also in demand throughout the country as a speaker and lecturer and remained very active until her final years. She died after a long and active life in 1962 and is buried next to FDR in Hyde Park.

When Eleanor became the First Lady, she made it clear that she was a plain and ordinary woman, not interested in the pretense of finery of many of her class. She made it her life’s work to serve and fight for the rights of others and to try to make the world a fairer and more equitable place. When you visit Val-Kill, and hopefully the FDR Library and his own house, you may be shocked with its simplicity of style inside. Covered in knotty-pine walls and the most basic and comfortable furnishings, it hardly seems like the home of such an esteemed lady—and wife of a president at that. There are books, family photos and heirlooms everywhere, and such an eclectic array of fabrics, but to Eleanor, it was perfectly appointed and cozy.

For more information: https://www.nps.gov/elro/index.htm