Theodore Roosevelt Presidential LibraryPublic Lands Directory

Alerts and conditions

All clear. The managing agency, the National Weather Service and wildfire reporting show no current alerts.

Overview

Orphaned at age nine, Herbert Hoover left West Branch never to live here again. In later years, he returned to his humble birthplace to celebrate his long career of public service. A memorial landscape remains to tell his story: how community, hard work, honesty, and usefulness to others opened a world of opportunity— and the presidency of the United States— to a child of simple beginnings.

From the National Park Service

History

The designation history for this site (every law, proclamation and order, and the administration behind each) is being researched and checked by the Library’s historians.

What to see and do

Activities

  • Arts and Culture
  • Craft Demonstrations
  • Food
  • Picnicking
  • Guided Tours
  • Self-Guided Tours - Walking
  • Hiking
  • Front-Country Hiking
  • Junior Ranger Program
  • Wildlife Watching
  • Birdwatching
  • Park Film
  • Museum Exhibits

Browse hiking, biking and paddling routes on AllTrails

Plan your visit

Hours

Operating Hours: From April 1 - October 31, historic buildings and the visitor center are open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. From November 1 - March 31, historic buildings are open 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and the visitor center is open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The grounds of the historic site are open 24 hours. Overnight parking is not allowed in the park.

Getting there

Take exit 254 off Interstate 80 to West Branch, Iowa. The Visitor Center is 0.3 mile north of Interstate 80.

Visitor centers

Weather

Spring and fall are mild with moderate temperatures. Average high temperatures in the spring and fall are between 50° and 60° F, with lows from 40° F to 50° F. Summer is hot and humid with average highs around 85° F. Winter can be cold, windy, and snowy with highs averaging 30° F or lower. Rain and thunderstorms are most frequent in the spring and summer.

Phone: 3196432541

Whose lands these are

These lands are the ancestral and present-day homelands of Native nations. A section on whose lands these are is being prepared with tribal review. In the meantime, Native Land Digital offers a starting point.

Photos

Two marble ledger stones each mark a grave in a semicircular landscaped plot with a flagpole.
Gravesite of President & Mrs. Hoover · NPS Photo/Steven Lonergan
A sprawling one story public building of rough-faced yellowish stone has a white portico entrance.
Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum · NARA/Lynn Smith
A low brown barn-like building with three large doorways has a large horseshoe on its facade.
Blacksmith Shop · NPS Photo/John Tobiason
A one-story wooden building painted off-white has two windows and a central doorway.
Schoolhouse · NPS Photo/John Tobiason
Two doorways, one on either side, of a broad white wood frame building divides the sexes.
Friends Meetinghouse · NPS Photo/John Tobiason
A cast bronze figure of a veiled goddess sits on a throne mounted on a concrete pedestal.
Statue of Isis · NPS Photo/John Tobiason

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