Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
A visit to Eisenhower National Historical Park allows you to walk in the footsteps of many world and national leaders. During and after his presidency, Dwight Eisenhower and his wife, Mamie, hosted many notable guests at their home and farm in Gettysburg.
President Eisenhower used these visits by foreign leaders as part of his diplomatic style during his presidency. At the farm, Eisenhower and his guests held informal discussions that were, according to Eisenhower, “a way to gauge character” and get to know each leader individually as a person, not just as a politician. Most of the visits were short, averaging two hours or less. Only one famous visitor, Indian Prime Minister Nehru, stayed overnight. Most of these visits to the Eisenhower Farm were in addition to more formal discussions and meetings that took place in the Oval Office or at nearby Camp David. Farm visits often included lunches, relaxed conversations in the sunroom, socializing with the Eisenhower family, including their grandchildren, and tours of the Eisenhower Angus cattle barn and operations. Eisenhower at least twice led distinguished guests on personal tours of the nearby Gettysburg battlefield.
While most of the famous visitors were heads of state, statesmen, and politicians, Dwight and Mamie Eisenhower also hosted other notables at their Gettysburg home, including spiritual leader Reverend Billy Graham, entertainer Bob Hope, golfer Arnold Palmer, and famous American artist Andrew Wyeth. Three future presidents also visited Eisenhower and Mamie's Gettysburg farm. Richard Nixon, who served as Eisenhower's vice president, visited several times. Gerald Ford visited in 1961 as House Minority Leader, and his children were given a two-hour private tour of the battlefield by Dwight Eisenhower. Ronald Reagan visited on June 15, 1966, when he was then a candidate for Governor of California.
Famous world and foreign leaders who have visited the Eisenhower family's Gettysburg House and Farm include British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill in May 1959, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev in 1959, French President Charles de Gaulle in 1960, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1956, British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in 1957, British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery in 1957, West German Chancellor Konrad Adenauer in 1957, Mexican President Adolfo Lopez Mateos in 1957, Colombian President Alberto Lleres Camargo in 1960, and the last King of Afghanistan, Mohammad Zahir Shah, and Queen Homeira Begum in September 1963.
Below is a picture gallery of some of the world's famous leaders who visited Dwight and Mamie at Gettysburg Farm.
