Agnostik
National Historic Site · IA

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

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.

nps.gov ↗

Photos

A one story wood frame house has board-and-batten exterior siding and a picket fence painted white.
Herbert Hoover called his humble birthplace "physical proof of the unbounded opportunity of American life."
Two marble ledger stones each mark a grave in a semicircular landscaped plot with a flagpole.
Two simple marble slabs mark the graves of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover.
A sprawling one story public building of rough-faced yellowish stone has a white portico entrance.
Exhibit galleries and archival collections tell of the triumphs and tragedies of Hoover’s long career in public service.
A low brown barn-like building with three large doorways has a large horseshoe on its facade.
Herbert Hoover's father Jesse owned a blacksmith shop similar to the one at Herbert Hoover NHS.
A one-story wooden building painted off-zinc-300 has two windows and a central doorway.
Many rural Midwestern towns like West Branch placed a high value on education.
Two doorways, one on either side, of a broad white wood frame building divides the sexes.
The plainly appointed Friends Meetinghouse and the practices within express Quaker values of peace, simplicity, integrity, and service to others.
A cast bronze figure of a veiled goddess sits on a throne mounted on a concrete pedestal.
The people of Belgium gave Herbert Hoover the statue "Isis, Goddess of Life" in gratitude for his famine relief efforts on their behalf during the First World War.

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