Franklin D. Roosevelt’s father bought this 110-acre New York property for $40,000 in 1867; the estate kept expanding until it covered nearly 1,600 acres when the president died in 1945

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s connection to Hyde Park, New York, began before he was born. In 1867, his father, James Roosevelt, bought a 110-acre property for $40,000, including a 17-room Italianate-style house that he renamed Springwood.

Over the decades, the Roosevelt family expanded both the house and the surrounding estate. By the time Franklin D. Roosevelt died in 1945, the property had grown to nearly 1,600 acres and included about 18 buildings, gardens, a working farm and the first Presidential Library and Museum. The National Park Service now preserves the site as the Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site.