Orphaned at age nine, Herbert Hoover left West Branch never to live here again. In later years, he returned to his humble birthplace to celebrate his long career of public service. A memorial landscape remains to tell his story: how community, hard work, honesty, and usefulness to others opened a world of opportunity— and the presidency of the United States— to a child of simple beginnings.
What you’ll hear
87 places to explore in this park.
- Allen Hoover Farm
- Amanda Garvin House
- Birthplace Cottage
- Birthplace Cottage Back Porch & Yard
- Birthplace Cottage Bedroom
- Birthplace Cottage Main Room
- Birthplace Park Original Entrance
- Blacksmith Shop (Herbert Hoover National Historic Site)
- Blacksmith Shop Interior
- Blacksmith Shop Original Site
- Blacksmith Shop Second Site
- C.E. Smith House
- C.E. Smith House Original Site
- Citizens' Savings Bank Building
- Crook's Hotel Building
- David Mackey House
- Donation Box
- Downey Street
- Downey Street Information Kiosk
- Earliest Citizen's Savings Bank Building
- East Picnic Shelter
- Eli Hoover Farm
- Enlow Building
- E.S. Hayhurst House
- Friends Meetinghouse
- Friends Meetinghouse Cry Room
- Friends Meetinghouse Interior
- Friends Meetinghouse Original Site
- Friends Meetinghouse Second Site
- Gravesite of President & Mrs. Hoover
- Graves of Jesse & Hulda Hoover
- Grinnell Building
- Gruwell-Crew Building
- Hannah Varney House
- Hannah Varney House Original Site
- Herbert Hoover Highway
- Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Entrance
- Herbert Hoover Presidential Library & Museum
- Heritage Square
- Hoover Creek
- Hoover Nature Trail
- Hoover Presidential Foundation Building
- House of the Maples Site
- Iowa Award
- Isaac Miles Farmstead
- James Staples House
- Jesse Hoover's Farm Implement Store Site
- Laban Miles House
- Leech Building
- Leech-Gruwell Garage Building
- L.J. Leech House
- Mary Wright House
- Methodist Church Site
- Old Post Office Site
- Old West Branch State Bank Building
- Opera Block
- Patterson-Leech Building
- Poplar Street
- Prairie Trails - West Entrance
- Presidential Library & Museum Information Kiosk
- P.T. Smith House
- Rich & Bailey Block
- Schoolhouse
- Schoolhouse Interior
- Schoolhouse Original Site
- Schoolhouse Second Site
- Schoolhouse Third Site
- Second Street Meetinghouse Site
- South Downey Street Bridge
- Statue of Herbert Hoover
- Statue of Isis
- Tallgrass Prairie
- Tallgrass Prairie Observation Deck
- Tallgrass Prairie Trails
- The Cultural Landscape of Herbert Hoover's Hometown
- Theodore Minthorn Farm
- Thompson Farm
- Traveler's Rest
- Union Block
- Veterans Memorial Building
- Village Green & Gazebo
- Village Green Information Kiosk
- Visitor Center Information Kiosk
- West (Boy Scout) Picnic Shelter
- West Branch Bank
- West Branch Commercial Historic District
- West Branch Town Hall
Hear it on Trailtold
Download the app and let Herbert Hoover National Historic Site narrate itself as you walk — GPS-triggered audio, hands-free.
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