{"nrhp_refnum":"88001825","name":"Camp Hoover","other_names":["Camp Rapidan"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Shenandoah National Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Graves Mill","county":"Madison County","state":"VA","lat":38.49151863550006,"lon":-78.42164279504243,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-07","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1988-06-07","areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Camp Hoover (also called Camp Rapidan) is a rustic presidential retreat district at the headwaters of the Rapidan River, now inside Shenandoah National Park near Graves Mill, Madison County, Virginia. It was developed between 1929 and 1932 for President Herbert Hoover.","why_significant":"The camp served as a \"summer White House\" during the Hoover Administration (1929-1933). Three of its 13 original cabins survive, along with stone bridges, trout pools, a fountain, a large outdoor fireplace and trails that show the camp's original function and appearance. The nomination ties these resources to the camp's role as a presidential retreat and a site of diplomatic discussion.","narrative":"Camp Hoover is a secluded mountain retreat among hemlocks at the base of Fork Mountain, at the headwaters of Virginia's Rapidan River. Herbert and Lou Henry Hoover developed it between 1929 and 1932 as a summer White House, and U.S. Marine Corps crews built its simple one-story wooden cabins, set among trees and boulders with little leveling of the land. Of 13 original buildings, three remain: The President, The Prime Minister and The Creel. The surrounding landscape also survives in part, including stone bridges, man-made trout pools, a tiered stone fountain from Lou Henry Hoover's rock garden, a large fieldstone fireplace used for meetings, stone-lined trails and the Hemlock Run waterway. The Prime Minister cabin was built for naval disarmament talks with British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald. Most other buildings were demolished in 1960 after Boy Scout use. The camp lies within Shenandoah National Park and is kept as a presidential weekend retreat.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Built by U.S. Marine Corps crews; William J. Wagner, AIA, analyzed the cabin alterations","architectural_style":"Rustic Camp","criteria":[],"status_note":"Three original cabins survive and are maintained by the National Park Service as a weekend retreat for the President; some facilities are rented to Cabinet and Congress members, and the grounds are open to park users with interpretive signs.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.950173-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/89/6790/41679089/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/88001825_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001825/7dfabe6519-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88001825/7dfabe6519-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 2.5","author":"The original uploader was Wallygva at English Wikipedia.","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camphoover.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">The original uploader was Wallygva at English Wikipedia.</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camphoover.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679089","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapidan_Camp","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7294243"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/madison-county/camp-hoover-88001825/"}