The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, located in Plains, Georgia, preserves sites associated with Jimmy Carter (born 1924), 39th president of the United States. These include his residence, boyhood farm, school, and the town railroad depot, which served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election. The building which used to be Plains High School (opened in 1921 and closed in 1979) serves as the park's museum and visitor center. As Carter lives in Plains, the area surrounding the residence, including the burial site of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) is under the protection of the United States Secret Service and is not open to the public.
Jimmy Carter National Historical Park | |
Former U.S. National Historic Site | |
 Jimmy Carter National Historical Park Visitor Center | |
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| Location | 300 N. Bond St., Plains, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°01′50″N 84°25′06″W / 32.0304393°N 84.4182473°W[2] |
| Area | 71 acres (29 ha) |
| Visitation | 51,580[3] (2018) |
| Website | Jimmy Carter National Historical Park |
| NRHP reference No. | 01000272[1] |
| Significant dates | |
| Designated NHS | December 23, 1987 |
| Designated NHP | 2021 |
The Carters returned to Plains in 1981. The former President and First Lady pursued many of the goals of his administration through the Carter Center in Atlanta, which has programs to alleviate human suffering and to promote human rights and world peace. Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, which is open to the public.
It was established in 1987 by Pub. L. 100–206 as Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and renamed as a national historical park in 2021.
Visitor center and museum
editThe former Plains High School, which both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter attended, now serves as the park's visitor center and museum.[4] It features a classroom, principal's office, and auditorium which have been restored to look as they would have when Jimmy Carter attended.[4] An exact replica of the Resolute desk, which Jimmy Carter brought back to the Oval Office to use as his presidential desk, is exhibited, as is his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Other rooms feature exhibits that explain the lives of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, and a short video focuses on the life of Jimmy Carter according to his friends, neighbors, and family.[4]
Boyhood home and farm
editThe farm in rural Archery where Jimmy lived from age four in 1928 until he left for college[4] in 1941 has been restored to its appearance before electricity was installed in 1938.[4]
Campaign headquarters
editThe former Plains Train Depot, where Carter headquartered his presidential campaign, now serves as a museum focusing on the 1976 Presidential Campaign and Election.[4] It features exhibits which highlight Jimmy Carter's campaign for President. The train depot operated from 1888 until 1951,[4] when all public transportation to and from the area ceased.[5]
Carter home and burial site
editThe current home of the Carters at 209 Woodland Drive, while not open to the public, is a part of the park.[6] The Carters have lived in the home since 1961.[7] During his presidency, it was used as his Summer White House.[7]
Rosalynn Carter is buried on the grounds of the house by a willow tree on the lawn of the property. Jimmy Carter intends to be buried next to his late wife upon his death.[8] The intent is for the National Park Service (NPS) to turn the house into a museum and open it to public tours after Jimmy Carter's passing.[8][9]
Photos
editPlains train depot
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Plains train depot, which served as the 1976 Carter campaign headquarters
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Interior of the campaign headquarters
Visitor center and museum
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Carter's high school, now a museum and visitor center
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Detail of classroom
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Auditorium
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Historical marker
Carter boyhood farm
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Map of farm
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A water pump powered by a windmill
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Barn and old farm equipment
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Blacksmith shop
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Earl and Lillian Carter home
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Detail of front porch
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Detail of dining room
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Detail of bedroom
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Detail of bedroom
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Carter family country store
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Detail of country store
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Rachel and Jack Clark's tenant house
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Tenant house, main room
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Tenant house, kitchen
See also
editSources
edit- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- ^ "Jimmy Carter National Historical Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
- ^ "Park Statistics - Jimmy Carter National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Jimmy Carter National Historic Site - Things To Do". Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ "Jimmy Carter National Historic Site - Things To Know Before You Come". Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ "Jimmy Carter National Historic Site - Hours". Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ a b "Presidential Avenue: Jimmy Carter". Archived from the original on December 31, 2003. Retrieved June 20, 2012.
- ^ a b Kevin Sullivan; Mary Jordan (August 17, 2018). "The un-celebrity president". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ Rob Hotakainen (November 13, 2019). "Jimmy Carter, Park Service prepare for 'life after death'". E&E News. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
External links
edit- Official Park Service site
- "Life Portrait of Jimmy Carter", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, broadcast from the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site, December 3, 1999
- Jimmy Carter's Boyhood Home
- Media related to Jimmy Carter National Historical Park at Wikimedia Commons
