The home of Jimmy Carter (1924–2024), who was the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981, and his wife Rosalynn Carter (1927–2023) is located at 209 Woodland Drive in Plains, Georgia, United States. It is the only house that the Carters owned; they occupied it from 1961 until Jimmy Carter's death in 2024.[1]
Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter House | |
 Front facade of 209 Woodland Drive, 1979 | |
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| Location | 209 Woodland Drive Plains, Georgia |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 32°02′08″N 84°24′06″W / 32.03556°N 84.40167°W |
| Built | 1960 |
| Part of | Jimmy Carter National Historical Park (ID01000272) |
The house was built by the Carters in 1960; work was subsequently carried out on the house in 1974 and 1981.[2][1] The Carters knocked down a wall at the house themselves during remodeling of the house in the 2010s.[3] Rosalynn Carter described the work of knocking down the wall as "second-nature" due to the couple's extensive work with the charity Habitat for Humanity.[3] The one-story house is set on a lot of 2.4 acres (0.97 ha); it was built at a price of $10 per square foot (equivalent to $103 in 2023).[2][3] The house was built to accommodate the Carters' growing family; they had three young sons, James, Donnel, and Jack, at the time of its construction.[2] It had four bedrooms at the time of its construction in 1960.[2]
The Historic American Buildings Survey describes the house as a "modest 1960s ranch-style house".[1] In a 2018 profile of the Carters' life in Plains for The Washington Post, Kevin Sullivan and Mary Jordan described the house as "dated, but homey and comfortable".[3]
A pond on the grounds was personally dug by Jimmy Carter; he used it for fly fishing.[3] A magnolia tree on the grounds was grown from a tree on the lawn of the White House that was planted by President Andrew Jackson.[3]
Rosalynn Carter is buried on the grounds of the house by a willow tree on the lawn of the property.[4] Jimmy Carter will be buried next to her.[3] The home is part of the Jimmy Carter National Historical Park but is not open to the public. The deed to the house has been granted to the National Park Service (NPS) who will turn the house into a museum and open it to public tours at a time to be determined after Carter's funeral.[3][5] The property is protected by the U.S. Secret Service. The Federal Government purchased the adjacent property at 1 Woodland Drive (referred as "Gnann House") in 1981 following the Carters' return from Washington D.C. for use by the Secret Service.[6][7]
The Carters were actively involved in planning the future museum; their involvement as living participants in a presidential home museum project is unique.[5] Future tours would include the pool, tennis courts and back patio of the house; new paths and benches would be constructed.[5] Jimmy Carter's wood shop would also be on display.[5] The NPS plans to make the proposed museum of the house reflect the couple's use of the residence "as a place for both refuge and recreation". The garden will be managed along environmental principles to reflect Rosalynn Carter's interest in a pollinator garden.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c "Jimmy Carter House, 209 Woodland Drive, Plains, Sumter County, GA". Library of Congress. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
- ^ a b c d Kai Bird (June 15, 2021). The Outlier: The Unfinished Presidency of Jimmy Carter. Crown. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-451-49525-9.
- ^ a b c d e f g h 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.
- ^ Jordan, Mary; Sullivan, Kevin. "Rosalynn Carter buried near the Georgia home that she built with Jimmy". washingtonpost.com. WP, LLC. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ "16 USC 410hhhh: Establishment of Jimmy Carter National Historic Site". US Code.
- ^ "Development Concept Plan/ Environmental Assessment for The Carter Home and Garden" (PDF). National Park Service. 2019.