Saturday, October 9, 2010

Hoover: Iowa's Only Native President


Iowa has produced some enduring people - John Wayne, Jean Seberg, the Everly Brothers, Andy Williams, Tom Arnold, Kurt Warner and Christopher Ashton Kutcher and many more. So far the state has produced only one US President - Herbert Clark Hoover. He was the first president to be born west of the Mississippi River.


President Hoover and his wife Lou Henry Hoover are buried in West Branch, Iowa at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Their white marble graves are within easy walking distance to the library and museum. Hoover was born in West Branch.


Just a few paces east of their grave site on the walk back to the museum, you can see tall prairie stands that are part of the park. The view of this barn can be seen from this vantage point.

And speaking of prairie, there's another connection to note at this library - that of Hoover and a famous writer - Laura Ingalls Wilder of Little House on the Prairie fame. Her daughter Rose Wilder Lane became good friends with the ex-president. Rose's collection of manuscripts, letters and other communication is housed at the Hoover library including many of letters to and from her mother as they worked on the Little House books. Know that.

1 comment:

  1. Very interesting! I love the Laura Ingalls Wilder series. Even Kyle did, when he was small. I remember him telling a friend who slept over one night, "Listen to this story, Eric! It's about this guy, and he lives in the woods, and he has a gun and shoots stuff and everything." Too funny.

    Oh, and BTW, it looks very nice in here!

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