Summer of 21 - #20 - Exploring Gettysburg Town - Eisenhower National Historical Site

May 17th, 2021 -  Part 1 of 3

I planned a route around Gettysburg that took us to places we wanted to see.

Here's a map showing the places we visited. We started from Gettysburg Campground where we are staying and made an anti clockwise tour. 

Our first stop was Sachs Covered Bridge, which I have covered in the next blog. 

I have so many pictures for the Eisenhower National Historic Site that I needed to give it a blog of it's own. Here is a LINK to the Eisenhower NHS website if you would like to read more about it.

Here's an excerpt from the website: 

"Eisenhower National Historic Site preserves the farm of General and 34th President Dwight D. Eisenhower. Adjacent to the Gettysburg battlefield, the farm served the President and First Lady as a weekend retreat and as a meeting place for world leaders. With its peaceful setting and views of South Mountain, it was a respite from Washington, DC, and a backdrop for efforts to reduce Cold War tensions."

The buildings have been closed for renovations and the reception center is closed because of Covid. We walked around the grounds and gardens which were lovely and once again there weren't many people.

We started at the yellow star in the picture below, along to the guest house, then turned left down past the stables on the left, on toward the putting green. Turned right and walked behind the Eisenhower home, down to the tea house, greenhouses and vegetable garden. Then back up past the side of the Eisenhower home and down a path toward a second farm. This led us over a pretty stream and past some lovely wildflowers.

We walked along to the Guest House.

It was a lovely small building and reminded me of an old school building or church with the bell on the roof.

On the way to the stables, we passed a garage that was closed, but I'm guessing it is sometimes open to the public to view the vintage cars that are in there. We peeked through the windows and saw a couple of the cars. 

President Eisenhower would drive visiting dignitaries around the farm in them. Winston Churchill and Charles DeGaulle both enjoyed rides in the Crosley, which we saw through the window, while they were guests here.

We walked down to the stables, although they looked more like a residence for people than horses!!

The Stables!!!

Next was the Eisenhower Home. This LINK takes you to a 3D tour of it. 

The Presidential Putting Green.  The flag had 5 stars on it, presumably recognizing that President Eisenhower was a five star General. A nice touch. 

Sun Dial

Bryan walking ahead

The back of the home

Side of the home

Looking back at the home

and the stables!!

There was a modern outdoor barbecue area.

and a tea house?

although this door was on the other side of it.

So, a Junior Secret Service activity center.  I'm sure they make good use of the BBQ area and maybe the vegetables that are being grown.

There I am in the BBQ area. 

The greenhouses are still being used.

Vegetables being grown

Bird House, maybe the vegetables are for them. 😉😁

We walked up the path, past the side of the home.

and then down a newly laid path toward a pretty wild flower area with a stream. I took a picture standing on the new path because after all the walking we had done, the soft spongy bark path felt really good on your feet.

Just open fields for miles

                                                                                                            

Here's the wild flower area.

Small stream

There was another building up the hill on the other side of the stream and I walked up to see what it was. 

The Park Headquarters and apparently another farm.  I didn't go any further.

We walked back toward the car, along the front of the house. There was a large truck and trailer parked in front of the home which made it difficult to take any pictures.

Across from the house was the Helicopter Landing Pad. 

This photo shows "Charles De Gaulle, walking next to Eisenhower, when he visited the farm in April 1960, during a break from talks at nearby Camp David.  Eisenhower found the farm a perfect setting for conducting one-on-one diplomacy".

We arrived back at the car and walked across to look at the other end of the barn.

There was an informational sign on the door explaining that this was "originally the barn's milk house but was established as an office for President Eisenhower's Secret Service detail in 1955.  During the presidential years, one of 8-10 agents who worked each shift would be stationed in the office to monitor the alarm control panel and radio communications equipment.  The back room served as a firearms and ammunitions cache and was used by White House communication specialists who manned a plug-in switchboard, teletype machine, and microwave radio.  Secured within a safe in the back room was the satchel containing nuclear codes that always accompanied the President."

Gas Pumps

That was a very interesting walk around the estate and we really enjoyed it, but there was more to see.  So we got in the car and continued to our next stop.........