Thomas Woodrow Wilson, 28th president of the United States, was born in this Greek Revival manse in 1856. Built in 1846 to house the pastors of Staunton's First Presbyterian Church, the manse's second occupants were Dr. and Mrs. Joseph Ruggles Wilson, Woodrow Wilson's parents, who moved here in 1855. Although his family left Staunton while he was still a baby, it was in this forthright dwelling that the seeds of Wilson's firm moral and intellectual training were planted. He carried these precepts into his adult life as a professor, president of Princeton University, governor of New Jersey and finally president of the United States. Wilson conceived the League of Nations, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919. The manse was acquired by the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation in 1938 and was dedicated as a museum by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941.

The Woodrow Wilson Birthplace, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 24 North Coalter St. in Staunton, VA. Click here for the National Historic Landmark registration file: text and photos. It is open March-October, Monday-Saturday from 9:00am to 5:00pm, and Sundays 12:00pm to 5:00pm; from November-February Monday-Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm, and Sundays 12:00pm to 4:00pm. It is closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. There is a fee. Please call the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum 540-885-0897, or toll free 1-888-496-6376, or visit the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum website for further information.

Credits and Sources:

National Park Service. "Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary American Presidents: List of Sites." http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/presidents/list_of_sites.html.

Woodrow Wilson Birthplace

Photo courtesy of Virginia Department of Historic Resources