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Woodrow Wilson Birthplace

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not2creative
not2creative
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4 out of 5
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Woodrow Wilson Birthplace

  • March 7, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by zabelle from Portland, Connecticut
Woodrow Wilson Birthplace

I have always felt a certain affinity for Woodrow Wilson since I attended Woodrow Wilson Junior High School and the part of Middletown, CT, where I grew up attended Woodrow Wilson High School. Wilson also spent some years in Middletown as a Professor at Wesleyan University.

Thomas Woodrow Wilson was born in Staunton on December 28, 1856. His father, Joseph Ruggles Wilson had taken the pastorate of the Presbyterian Church in Staunton in 1855 and by 1858 he and his wife Jennie Woodrow and their three children were moving on another Presbyterian church in August Ga . So in reality, though Staunton is where he was born, it was not where the future president was raised. The House where he was born is the Manse, the parish house that is provided by the parish for the pastor and his family.

What you have to visit here is the Museum, the future location of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and the Manse which has been restored to what it would have been like at the time the Wilson family was in residence.

You can get to the Museum by taking the Trolley which will drop you off right along side the House. This is a two part tour. The first part is self guided. Here you will walk through a museum that will tell you about the 28th President’s childhood, college years, early married life, and then the years of his presidency. You will meet his parents, his two wives and a myriad of others who were part of his life. Even his presidential limousine is here.

The second part of the visit is the tour of the actual house where he lived with his family growing up. I love taking a guided tour especially when the docent is enthusiastic and that was certainly the case here. This is the south of course but it was still disturbing to find out that the church rented three slaves to help out during the time the Wilson’s were here. Jennie Wilson was a talented musician and her guitar has been saved and is displayed in the parlor. Also on display is a coffee service that was a gift from the congregation in Augusta, GA.

We get to see the room where he was born at 12:45pm on December 28, 1856. He was given the name Thomas and called Tommy by his family but when he went to college he dropped it and took his middle name which was his mother’s family name. The bed where he was born is not here, it is in South Carolina but his crib is here and his mothers which came with her from England.

I found this whole visit fascinating . I realize that even though he is listed as the 6th most important president I didn’t know very much about Woodrow Wilson. You definitely won’t be able to say that after you leave here.

From journal Finding Shakespeare in Staunton

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace

  • February 7, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by not2creative from Leesburg, Virginia
From its kitchens to the children's room, the servants' room to the dining room, the home is decorated with period furnishings and some of the Wilsons' actual household belongings. Self-guided and interpretative tours are available.

The home also has an adjacent museum with exhibits that present the life and public service of Woodrow Wilson through historic photographs, documents, and objects.

The gardens were designed and planted in 1933. The gardens include two terraces, the lower one featuring boxwood-lined bowknot beds.

From journal Staunton - On the Way to Massanutten

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