Eisenhower National Historic Site
Eisenhower and Gettysburg: Visit Eisenhower National Historic Site
President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Gettysburg home served as a weekend retreat and retirement place for President Dwight D. and his wife Mamie Eisenhower. Its serene setting and impressive view of rural Gettysburg offered a respite from Washington, D.C. and offered President Eisenhower a backdrop for efforts to reduce Cold War tensions. Explore Eisenhower National Historic Site on a visit to Gettysburg National Military Park; shuttle buses depart regularly from the Museum and Visitor Center. Purchase admission tickets at the ticket counter in the lobby of the Museum and Visitor Center or purchase Eisenhower National Historic Site tickets online.
What Can We See at Gettysburg’s Eisenhower National Historic Site?
A tour of Eisenhower National Historic Site at Gettysburg includes a self-guided tour of the Eisenhower home and farm grounds. The house retains nearly all of its original furnishings and offers a look at the life and times of Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower. A tour of the farm grounds includes gardens, teahouse, skeet range, barn, show barn, putting green and more. Allow at least 90 minutes to two hours to explore the home and grounds. A Reception Center at the site offers additional Eisenhower-related exhibits and a bookstore.
Admission to the Eisenhower National Historic Site is by shuttle bus only, which leaves from the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center at regular intervals during the day beginning at 9 a.m. Due to a lack of on-site parking and space limitations in the Eisenhower home, parking is not available at the site. Eisenhower National Historic Site is open 362 days a year, except for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day.
Ranger programs are offered at the site seasonally. Families with children can participate in the Junior Secret Service Agent program.
Visitors with special needs should inquire at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center for special arrangements for visiting Eisenhower National Historic Site.
Living history programs take place each year at the site.
Contact Gettysburg’s Eisenhower National Historic Site
Tickets
877-874-2478
Telephone
717-338-9114
Website
Admission Rates
- Adult (ages 13+): $7.50
- Youth (ages 6-12): $5
- Child (agees 5 and under): FREE
The Presidential Years: Eisenhower at Gettysburg
President Eisenhower’s connection to the town and battlefield at Gettysburg began in 1915, when he visited the site with his West Point class. In 1918, during World War I, Eisenhower commanded Camp Colt, which was located on the field of Pickett’s Charge on the battlefield. After his service as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II, Eisenhower came back to Gettysburg. He and his wife, Mamie, purchased a 189-acre farm adjoining the battlefield in 1950.
Eisenhower used his weekend trips to Gettysburg to relax from the pressures of Washington, DC., but he also hosted meetings at his Gettysburg home with members of his staff and entertained prominent dignitaries. World leaders often visited the house; Eisenhower routinely gave them tours of his Angus cattle herd and barns before returning to the house for discussions on the back porch. Eisenhower believed the informal nature of the porch allowed him to “get the other man’s equation.”
The Retirement Years: Eisenhower at Gettysburg
In 1961, President and Mrs. Eisenhower retired to their Gettysburg farm. Over the next eight years, Eisenhower spent weekdays working at his office at Gettysburg College, meeting with political figures and writing his memoirs. In 1967, the Eisenhowers donated their beloved home and farm to the National Park Service. In 1969, Eisenhower died at the age of 78; Mrs. Eisenhower continued to live at the farm until her death in 1979. In 1980, the National Park Service opened the farm to the public as Eisenhower National Historic Site.
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