History & Culture

Herbert Hoover, mining engineer, humanitarian, statesman, and 31st President of the United States, was born August 10, 1874 in a simple two-room cottage in West Branch, Iowa. His Quaker family had helped settle the town, and their principles of honesty, hard work, simplicity, and generosity guided Hoover throughout his life of service to the nation and the world.

After his father's death, Herbert Hoover's mother Hulda earned and saved money for the children's schooling.

Mary Blanche Hoover was born in 1876 in the same two-room cottage as her older brother, future president Herbert Hoover.

Henry John Minthorn, physician, educator, missionary, and businessman, was the older brother of Hulda Minthorn, Herbert Hoover’s mother. Young Herbert lived with Dr. Minthorn and his family in Oregon from 1885 until 1891.

Allan Henry Hoover was the second son of Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover. In 1935 the younger Hoover bought his father's birthplace in West Branch, Iowa, and with his mother Lou restored it to its 1870s appearance.

Herbert Charles Hoover was the first son of President Herbert Hoover. An engineer and businessman, Herbert Jr. served as Under Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Like Herbert Hoover, the president's older brother Theodore was a Stanford graduate and engineer. His recollections of their father's blacksmith shop are the basis for a similar building at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site.

Herbert Hoover, mining engineer, humanitarian, statesman, and 31st President of the United States, was born August 10, 1874 in a simple two-room cottage in West Branch, Iowa. His Quaker family had helped settle the town, and their principles of honesty, hard work, simplicity, and generosity guided Hoover throughout his life of service to the nation and the world.

A lone maple tree grows on the land where the Hoover family's second home once stood. The one-acre parcel, on the corner of Downey and Cedar streets, had a two-story frame house with two chimneys. Maple trees lined the front yard and a wild crabapple tree grew in back of the spacious four-room home.

In 1951 Herbert Hoover became the first recipient of the prestigious Iowa Award, which is bestowed to "recognize the outstanding service of Iowans in the fields of science, medicine, law, religion, social welfare education, agriculture, industry, government and other public service." Only 12 other Iowans have received this award.

Part of the National Archives, the presidential library allows people to explore the legacy of Herbert Hoover's presidency. Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum opened to the public on August 10, 1962— Herbert Hoover's 88th birthday. The library's original entrance, which is the small portico at the east end of the building supported by four white pillars and topped with an earlier version of the presidential seal, is where the dedication took place.

The bronze, seven and a half foot tall statue "Isis, Goddess of Life" is the work of Belgian sculptor Auguste Puttemans. It was a gift from the people of Belgium in gratitude for Hoover's famine relief efforts on their behalf during the First World War.

Herbert Hoover grew up in a religious community that valued peace, simplicity, integrity, and service to others. The plainly furnished Friends Meetinghouse, built by the Society of Friends, or Quakers, in 1857, is the physical expression of those values. Now two blocks from its original location, the Herbert Hoover Birthplace Foundation relocated and restored this meetinghouse in 1964.

Herbert Hoover recalled, "Iowa in those years was filled with days of school, and who does not remember with a glow, some gentle woman, who with infinite patience and kindness, drilled into us those foundations of all we know today."

When Herbert Hoover was born in 1874, West Branch was beginning a long period of growth and general prosperity that lasted through the early part of the 20th century. Fifteen of the sixteen buildings from that time remain and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That designation was the result of a proud community’s recognition of West Branch’s place in history and a tireless effort to preserve their past.

A lone maple tree grows on the land where the Hoover family's second home once stood. The one-acre parcel, on the corner of Downey and Cedar streets, had a two-story frame house with two chimneys. Maple trees lined the front yard and a wild crabapple tree grew in back of the spacious four-room home.

West Branch boomed between 1869 and 1873. New buildings constructed in the neighborhood near the Hoovers' small cottage on Downey Street included the Laban Miles House, the Garvin House, and the Methodist Church, which is no longer standing. When the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad arrived in West Branch on December 20, 1870, two hundred of the town's residents celebrated with a picnic dinner.

The Hoover Birthplace Society dedicated "Herbert Hoover Birthplace Park" at its new entrance gate in 1952. At the time the park consisted chiefly of the Birthplace Cottage and the Statue of Isis.

In 1951 Herbert Hoover became the first recipient of the prestigious Iowa Award, which is bestowed to "recognize the outstanding service of Iowans in the fields of science, medicine, law, religion, social welfare education, agriculture, industry, government and other public service." Only 12 other Iowans have received this award.

When he died on October 20, 1964 at the age of 90, the 31st President was laid to rest five days later in this quiet, grassy hillside. More than 100,000 people lined the funeral procession route from Cedar Rapids to West Branch on that warm fall day.