A dip into history at ER's place
story + photos by niki@hvny.info
When FDR wasn’t in Hyde Park, Eleanor Roosevelt wasn’t staying at that big, cold Springwood mansion on the Hudson River hillside (with her mother-in-law, the domineering Sarah Roosevelt…). Instead, she spent most weekend and holidays at Val-Kill in the woods of Hyde Park. It became her permanent residence after FDR’s death in 1945.
ER took respite in the simpler life at Val-Kill: taking rest on the sleeping porch, barbecuing with friends, walking the grounds, gardening, and swimming in the pool that FDR installed for his physical therapy (and for the grandkids’ enjoyment).
The original pool at Val-Kill was fed naturally by the adjacent pond, but then updated by M.K. Hasbrouck, who also designed FDR’s swimming pool at the White House (which is still beneath the current Press Room of the White House).
According to the National Park Service, friends recalled Eleanor swimming daily, and "her effort to go off the diving board head first was a demonstration of sheer grit: she bent over the edge slowly, her fingers reaching toward her toes, at last tilting into the pool with a great splash. She never mastered it; she never gave up trying….Whoever interested her was invited to spend the day at Val-Kill and told to bring his bathing suit.”
Not only did Eleanor go in daily, she made sure her guests, like King George V and Sir Winston Churchill, brought their bathing suits for a dip during their visit to Val-Kill.
The pool was recently restored as a project of the National Park Service Centennial. "The Val-Kill swimming pool is a central feature of Val-Kill's lively history, and the characteristic recreational activities that were so meaningful to the Roosevelts' entertainment and informal diplomacy style," said Manuela Roosevelt, Chair of The Eleanor Roosevelt Val-Kill Partnership.
The pool is not open to the public for swimming, but the grounds, gardens and trails are open everyday from 8am to 7pm. Due to the coronavirus, Val-Kill Cottage remains closed: https://www.nps.gov/elro/planyourvisit/conditions.htm
Sources:
