An official website of the State of Georgia.
The nearly century-old swimming pools that first brought Franklin D. Roosevelt to Warm Springs, Georgia, have been restored and were celebrated yesterday during a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Officials from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites, and Little White House Advisory Board attended the ceremony.
Part of Roosevelt’s Little White House Historic Site, the nearly century-old swimming pools were central to FDR’s personal battle with polio and his broader vision for national healing following the Great Depression. The warm, 88°F spring waters had long been valued for their therapeutic properties, first by Indigenous Muscogee people and later by polio patients. The pools were even the president’s inspiration to create the March of Dimes.
Over time, the pools deteriorated, leaving them unable to hold water and susceptible to further degradation. The pool renovation project serves as a testament to FDR’s statement that "People acting together as a group can accomplish things which no individual acting alone could ever hope to bring about.” Thanks to state funding, grants from the National Park System and Callaway Foundation, support from the Little White House Advisory Board, and a fund-raising effort led by the Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites, the historic structures have been stabilized and again filled with Warm Springs’s namesake. Their significance extends beyond physical therapy -- they represent a living legacy of resilience.
The historic site includes FDR’s modest home left nearly exactly as it was in 1945 when he passed away, as well as servants’ quarters, Walk of State Flags and Stones, and a film. Its museum showcases FDR’s hand-controlled cars, Fireside Chat recordings, his cane and stamp collections, his leg braces and more. After all restoration work is completed, the site will offer special events and programs, as well as viewing of the pools included with admission.
Roosevelt’s Little White House Historic Site is located at 401 Little White House Road in
Warm Springs, Ga. Admission is $7.50 children, $9.75 seniors and $13 adults. For more information, visit GaStateParks.org/LittleWhiteHouse or call 706-655-5870.
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