Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

The Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa commemorates the birthplace and early life of the 31st President of the United States, the only president born west of the Mississippi River. Administered by the National Park Service, the site at 110 Parkside Dr encompasses the two-room cottage where Herbert Hoover was born on August 10, 1874, a restored 19th-century Quaker meetinghouse of the type Hoover's family attended, a working blacksmith shop that recreates the trade of Hoover's father Jesse, and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. The Presidential Library and Museum is the primary exhibition space, with galleries tracing Hoover's life from his Iowa Quaker childhood through his service as U.S. Food Administrator during World War I, Secretary of Commerce under Coolidge, and presidency (1929-1933), including his response to the onset of the Great Depression. The collection holds Hoover's personal papers, presidential gifts, and artifacts from his Belgian relief food administration work during both World Wars. The birthplace cottage, just a few hundred feet from the library, has been meticulously restored with period furnishings representative of 1870s Iowa pioneer life. A short walking path connects the cottage, meetinghouse, blacksmith shop, and Hoover's burial site on a low hill overlooking the town of West Branch. Lou Henry Hoover, his wife, is buried alongside him. West Branch is 10 minutes from Iowa City via I-80 Exit 254, making it an accessible stop for visitors to the University of Iowa community.