31. Herbert Hoover
The first president born west of the Mississippi River, Herbert Hoover was born August 10, 1874, in the Quaker community of West Branch, Iowa. Hoover’s birthplace was the family’s small two-room cottage, and when Hoover was three years old the family moved a block away to a larger home. At the age of two Hoover battled a severe case of croup, and the family had given him up for dead before his uncle (a doctor) resuscitated him. Hoover’s father was a successful blacksmith and salesman of farm equipment, but he died of heart trouble when Hoover was only six years old. Hoover’s mother was a teacher, seamstress, and Quaker minister who died of pneumonia in 1883. Orphaned at the age of nine, Hoover lived for a year with relatives in West Branch before relocating to Newberg, Oregon, to live with an uncle and help with farm work. Hoover’s birthplace has been restored and is now part of the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.
--Andrew B. Leiter
Just as with the Coolidge site, the Hoover birthplace is original with much of its surroundings original as well. The Blacksmith shop where Herbert must have spent many days with his father still stands as does the Friends Meeting House where the Quaker community would gather for worship, fellowship, and community meetings. By the time the Hoover family moved into a larger home, they were raising three children in the 24 square feet of the cottage. Walking through the home with this in mind, it struck me that much of the family's time must have been spent out in the yard and surrounding community. I walked much of the site photographing the home from different angles and distances to communicate just how small it is. There is a portion of prairie grass being restored that I thought was important to photograph as the first site west of the Mississippi. On my drive to the next site I was photographing on this particular trip, I couldn't stop thinking about Herbert, orphaned at 9 years old, boarding a train out West to Oregon. What must that trip have been like for a young boy in 1883? Hoover had this to say about his little home in West Branch:
"This cottage where I was born is physical proof of the unbounded opportunity of American life."