The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum
The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum strives to be the place to which both scholars and a broad spectrum of interested citizens look to understand how President Wilson changed the world and how his ideals continue to do so. The Presidential Library is open 360 days a year for guests from around the world to tour the President's Birthplace, the Museum, and the historic gardens and to visit the President's Shop. Thousands of schoolchildren participate in a variety of educational programming each year.
The Presidential Library, which attracts top-flight speakers, including Scott Berg, Larry Sabato, Cokie Roberts, Bill Schneider, and Robert Samuelson, runs teacher institutes and hosts a variety of educational symposia. The Presidential Library has a large collection of Wilson and Wilson-related documents and artifacts, and many of the documents are on-line on the Wilson eLibrary so that students, scholars, teachers, and others around the world can access these documents for free.
History
Founded in 1938 as the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation by a group of Virginia and national leaders, including President Wilson's widow, Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
- Dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941
- Visited by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960
- Registered as a National Historic Landmark in 1965
- Accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1976, reaccredited in 1989 and 2000
- Expanded by the addition of The Woodrow Wilson Museum in 1990
- Expanded with World War I trench exhibit in 2010
- Opened the new Library and Research Center in Fall 2011
Campus
- Presbyterian Manse, where President Wilson was born in 1856
- Museum dedicated to President Wilson's life and times
- Exhibit Hall featuring Wilson's 1919 Pierce-Arrow presidential limousine
- President's Shop and Orientation Room
- Restoration Garden designed and installed by The Garden Club of Virginia
- Library and Research Center, with one of the nation's largest collection of Wilson materials
- Smith House Administration Building
Programs
- Tours of the Manse and Museum year-round for over 20,000 guests annually
- Education programs for more than 2,000 schoolchildren annually
- Annual Speaker Series, featuring national historians and scholars
- Year-round Teacher Institutes
- Biennial Woodrow Wilson National Symposium for Wilson and Wilson-era scholars worldwide
- Wilson e-Library, a digital archive of resources for scholars, students, teachers, and the public
Mission
- To increase awareness and understanding of the life, principles and accomplishments of the 28th President of the United States through the preservation of the Presbyterian Manse where Woodrow Wilson was born, and a museum addressing his life and public service.
- To ensure that Wilson's ideas and ideals related to public service, governmental responsibility and international engagement play an important role on the American and the world stages.
- To present to visitors an engaging and educating experience covering Wilson's life context, his accomplishments and his legacy.
- To be the place to which both scholars and a broad spectrum of interested citizens look to understand how Wilson changed our world and how his ideals continue to do so.
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