My Own Home

Fall Kill, meaning "valley stream" in Dutch, flowed by the Roosevelts' cherished picnic spots, and Val-Kill combined those Dutch roots with the English translation. Val-Kill was a dynamic, active area on the Roosevelt property that served as a residence, a workshop, and a place for recreation. It was also a place where the Roosevelts and political allies gathered to address urgent national and international crises. Eleanor Roosevelt's close friends Nancy Cook and Marion Dickerman lived across the yard at Stone Cottage. After her husband's death in 1945, Eleanor transformed the Val-Kill workshop into her permanent home, a place where she said she found herself, grew, and emerged as an individual.

Haviland, New York · United States