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| The cottage, now known as the
FDR summer home, was built in 1897 for Mrs. Hartman Kuhn, of Boston, an
early guest of Campobello’s resort hotels. Mrs. Kuhn developed a
fondness for Eleanor when she and Franklin summered at his mother’s
cottage next door. When Mrs. Kuhn died, a provision in her will offered
her cottage to to FDR’s mother, Sara, at a bargain price
($5,000.00). Franklin’s mother purchased the cottage furnished,
with five acres of land in 1909 and, when she died, left the cottage to
him. |
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| During the 1880's, wealthy
people had extensive leisure time and the means to enjoy it. They sought
seaside (and lakeside) resorts to escape the heat of pre-air conditioning
cities. Families from New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Ottawa, and
Montreal came to Campobello’s hotels by private yacht, steamship, and
train for extended summer vacations. Several of the families, including
Franklin Roosevelt’s parents, James and Sara Roosevelt, liked the area
so much that they purchased land and built “cottages”. |
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| Franklin, Eleanor, and their
growing family spent summers in the cottage from 1909 to 1921. Every
summer, the Roosevelts brought a nurse and a governess to tutor and
instruct the children, and several servants to run the cottage. In
addition, several island residents were hired to help with the daily
chores. The interior of the cottage was comfortable, but had neither
electricity nor telephone. All of the furnishings in the
cottage are original pieces that belonged to the Roosevelts, except for
five pieces. |
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| The cottage is 119 feet long and
33 feet wide with seventy-six windows and seven fireplaces. Eighteen of
the thirty-four rooms are bedrooms; six are bathrooms. President
Roosevelt fell ill with the polio virus in 1921 at the age of 39, before
he became President. When
Franklin Delano Roosevelt came to Campobello as a child, it was to pursue
the orderly summer adventures available to a well-to-do Victorian
family. When he came as a young husband, whose third son was born on
the island, it was to taste the excitements of childhood from the
perspective of manhood and to pass on to his children the same challenges
and rewards he had known. And
finally, when he came as President of the US, it was to take new strength
and composure from Campobello's air and land, from the sea around it, and
from the memories of ease his "beloved island" awoke in him. |
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| The spacious kitchen offered the
cook and servants plenty of room to prepare food. Meals were served from
the adjoining butler’s pantry. Pictured here is the large, white enamel,
coal and wood-burning stove used by the family servants to prepare meals.
Prior to the President’s 1933 visit, his mother had the stove installed;
coincidentally, the stove bears the model name PRESIDENT across its oven
door. |
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| Eleanor Roosevelt had a daily
custom of serving tea from her Wedgewood tea set, either in the living
room or on the porch. Today, that tradition continues with tea being
served in an adjacent cottage twice daily. We had a delightful time
hearing stories about Eleanor from the hostesses. They were very
knowledgeable and, obviously loved what they do because they talked for a
half hour longer than scheduled! One of the reminded us that Eleanor
once said, “Women are like teabags.
We don’t know our true strength until we are in hot water!"
Jerry, being ever the comic, made the statement that the Campobello tour
was well worth the money . . . it was free - ha! Kidding aside, it
was a great visit that we enjoyed a lot. |
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| We took a ferry from Campobello
Island (Wilson's Beach) to L'Etete on the mainland of New Brunswick.
LOTS of good smells on a ferry, you know! |
