Photographs of David Eisenhower at the Entrance to Camp David, National Archives Identifier 299520541
For many Americans summertime is vacation time, and American presidents are no different. The National Archives Catalog contains many photographs of presidents and their families relaxing away from the high stress of Washington, DC politics.
President Harry S. Truman and Staff Members on Beach, National Archives Identifier 348304405
Presidents on vacation do the same things many Americans do – fishing, golfing, time with family and friends.
Clockwise from upper left: President Barack Obama on Vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, National Archives Identifier 167966509; President and First Lady vacation at Hammersmith Farm. Hugh D. Auchincloss, Mrs. Auchincloss, President Kennedy, Mrs. Kennedy, others. Narragansett Bay, RI, aboard the US Coast Guard Yacht "Manitou". National Archives Identifier 194213; President Bush Golfing with his Son, George W. Bush, in Kennebunkport, Maine, National Archives Identifier 6728191; Franklin D. Roosevelt on fishing trip, National Archives Identifier 345249557
Some presidents, like Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, returned to their homes during the intense heat and humidity of the summer in Washington. For nineteenth-century presidents who lived too far from the capital, there was a retreat called the Soldiers’ Home, a 225 acre campus located about three miles from the White House. Buchanan was the first president to use this house on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home as a summer retreat.
"Anderson" in the grounds of U.S. Soldiers' Home, Washington, DC, National Archives Identifier 329592621
The Lincolns, who had young boys, enjoyed summers at the Soldiers’ Home because it was cooler than the White House and had more outdoor space. President Lincoln commuted to White House on most days since presidential vacations are always working vacations. Lincoln is said to have drafted the Emancipation Proclamation at the Soldiers’ Home (https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-soldiers-home).
While presidents have traveled all over the country for their vacations, the best known presidential getaway is Camp David. Originally called Hi-Catoctin, it was built by the Works Progress Administration in the 1930’s as a retreat for federal agents. Franklin Roosevelt turned it into a presidential retreat and re-named it “Shangri-La.” The main lodge was modeled on his vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia.
Presidential Retreat, Shangri-La, National Archives Identifier 343791279
President Eisenhower renamed the facility “Camp David” after his father and grandson. A rural retreat of 125 acres in Frederick County, Maryland, Camp David is actually a military facility run and staffed by the US Navy. In fact, its formal name is Naval Support Facility Thurmont.
Photographs of President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Mamie Eisenhower with Camp David Personnel, National Archives Identifier 299520540
Since the 1950’s, presidents have altered and added to Camp David. Eisenhower put in a one hole golf course (designed with four tees so he could still get up a foursome). Richard Nixon paved over the nature trails, which were later restored by Ronald Reagan for one of his favorite hobbies, horseback riding.
Left: Richard Nixon Standing Near a Fence at Camp David, National Archives Identifier 194773; Right:
President Reagan Horseback Riding at Camp David, National Archives Identifier 6330777
From the beginning, Camp David has also been a place for meetings with foreign leaders. Winston Churchill was the first when he met with Roosevelt there in 1943. Since then, many world leaders have visited, such as Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev in 1973.
Richard M. Nixon and Leonid Brezhnev talking outside at Camp David, National Archives Identifier 194520
Most famously, Jimmy Carter hosted Egyptian President Anwar Al Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. The Camp David Accords which resulted from this meeting led to a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel, and Sadat and Begin won the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize.
Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat greet each other at Camp David., National Archives Identifier 181109
In 2012, Barack Obama hosted the G8 Summit at Camp David, gathering leaders from the eight largest world economies for a two-day conference.
President Barack Obama Hosts the G8 Summit at Camp David, National Archives Identifier 176548388
Whether you travel this summer or have a “staycation” at home, we wish you a happy and safe summer!
We are pleased to announce that now you can view and use the machine-generated (Optical Character Recognition or OCR) extracted text for many of our records in the Catalog. We’re hoping that this new feature will improve accessibility and searchability of our records, but the extracted text, especially handwritten text, is far from perfect. We still need human eyes to review the extracted text if you choose to use it for transcription. The information below can also be found on our HELP page, which can be linked to from the top of every catalog page.
Using extracted text for transcription
To view the extracted text for transcription, click on the Extracted Text button above the image of the document. This will open the extracted text panel.
Highlight and copy the extracted text using your cursor / mouse or keyboard.
Click on the Transcription button above the image to open the transcription window. Click the Start Transcribing button. Paste the extracted text into the transcription window.
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