Monday, July 17, 2023

The Roosevelt Cabin is in Two Nations at Once



When I first started watching this video, I assumed this is a story about a house that straddles an international border. Some houses do have a  border running through them, and they all have interesting stories behind how they got that way. This is not about a border line. Campobello Island is clearly in New Brunswick, Canada. But this house is historically significant, built for James and Sara Roosevelt in 1897. They took their only child, Franklin Roosevelt, to Campobello to spend their summers in recreation. FDR was given the summer home as a wedding gift when he married Eleanor in 1908, but after 1921 he could no longer stay there because he was left paralyzed after a bout with polio. In other words, this home is not wheelchair accessible.

The video explains how the house became the property of both the US and Canada, but along the way we get to look inside at the lovely vintage furnishings and accoutrements from the early 20th century, which have been remarkably preserved.  

1 comment:

xoxoxoBruce said...

Vintage furnishings and accoutrements from... when old money goes slumming... with staff. I suspect the decor was Eleanor's doing, she was a very smart lady.

(spellcheck insisted in accouterments rather than accoutrements. I disagree though)