In 1946, Eisenhower’s brothers gave their Abilene family home to a foundation; it opened to visitors the next year

Ida Eisenhower died in 1946, when her six sons gave the family home in Abilene, Kansas, to the Eisenhower Foundation. The house opened to the public in June 1947 and was preserved with the furniture and household details that remained after their mother’s death. The house had been the Eisenhower family home since 1898. David and Ida Eisenhower bought the six-room property on Southeast Fourth Street from David’s brother, Abraham Lincoln Eisenhower, and raised their six sons there. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who later became the 34th president of the United States, lived in the house until he left for the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1911. According to the Eisenhower Presidential Library, the family remained in the house until Ida died in 1946.The house where six Eisenhower boys grew upThe property covered about 2.5 to 3 acres and included a barn, chicken house, smokehouse, outhouse, orchard, strawberry patch and kitchen garden. In 1900, Ida's father-in-law, Jacob Eisenhower, moved in with the family. Two bedrooms and a walk-through closet were added to the east side of the house, and an indoor bathroom was added around 1908, followed by a small kitchen, pantry and enclosed back porch in 1915. TheEisenhower Presidential Library records those changes in its history of the property.Dwight was one of the six brothers raised in the house. He left Abilene for West Point in 1911, but the rest of the family continued living there for decades. His father, David, died in 1942, and Ida remained in the house until her death four years later.The brothers decided to preserve the family homeAfter Ida's death, the house could have become another privately held family property; instead, the Eisenhower brothers agreed to give it to the Eisenhower Foundation, which had been established in 1945 to create a memorial to General Eisenhower and honor World War II veterans. The foundation's early records provide a more detailed account of the transfer. In its 1947 annual meeting report, the Kansas Historical Society recorded that Milton Eisenhower acted for the surviving brothers when the property was deeded to the foundation in June 1946. One of the six brothers, Arthur, had died in 1942.A new roof and paint were among the early repairs, and the primary intention was to preserve the rooms and possessions as they had been during Ida Eisenhower's lifetime. The decision meant visitors could see more than an old house associated with a future president. The furnishings, books, piano, kitchen equipment and bedroom furniture remained in place. The 1947 Kansas Historical Society account described the rooms as they had been left by Ida.Visitors arrived within monthsThe Eisenhower Foundation opened the house to the public on June 22, 1947. More than 500 people visited on the opening day, according to the Eisenhower Foundation, and the event was broadcast by seven radio stations. A Kansas Historical Society account published in 1947 said more than 12,000 people had toured the house during its first 120 days, with visitors arriving from every U.S. state and 11 foreign countries. The foundation hired guides to take visitors through the rooms.At that point, Eisenhower was still a military figure rather than a former president, and his presidency eventually began in January 1953, after he won the 1952 election. The house continued to be associated with him as his public career developed. It was eventually incorporated into the larger presidential library and museum complex in Abilene.The home survived a major floodIn July 1951, flooding damaged the basement and ruined part of its rock foundation. The first floor managed to escape the flood damage, but the structure needed substantial work. Repairs were completed several years later, and the home was rededicated in November 1956. The White House Historical Association notes that later maintenance, including work on climate and security systems, exterior painting and reroofing, has helped retain its appearance.The property was eventually transferred from the Eisenhower Foundation to the federal government in 1966 and became part of the presidential library system. The Texas Historical Commission also records that the foundation operated the house until the transfer. The Eisenhower Presidential Library says the house is furnished as it was when Ida died in 1946. Many of the furnishings are original, while some have been moved to accommodate visitors.A preservation project completed in 2022 included exterior lead-paint abatement and maintenance work. The home now provides scheduled tours from Tuesday through Sunday, with tours limited to 10 people at a time. The house at Southeast Fourth Street remains part of the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home in Abilene. The building where the Eisenhower family lived from 1898 until Ida's death in 1946 has been receiving visitors since 1947.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.