Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites – a nonprofit organization supporting more than fifty state parks and historic sites across the state of Georgia through its network of local chapters, including the Friends of the Little White House in Warm Springs, Georgia – was awarded a $500,000 grant funded in part by the Save America’s Treasures grant program, through the Historic Preservation Fund, as administered by the National Park Service, Department of Interior towards a multi-phase campaign for the restoration and historic preservation of the Roosevelt Pools Complex at the Little White House Historic Site. The campaign’s primary goal is focused on the restoration of the Pools and surrounding facilities totaling approximately $5 million. To date, the Roosevelt Pools Project has resulted in $3,700,000 being invested in the site including this most-recent award.

Friends of Georgia State Parks is honored to be included in the $24.25 million in Save America’s Treasures grants to fund 80 projects in 32 states across the United States awarded by The National Park Service in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

“We are deeply humbled and grateful to be awarded this prestigious honor,” stated Damon Kirkpatrick, Executive Director of the Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites. “It represents confirmation, on a national level, of the historical significance and importance of our work to preserve this treasured part of American history.”

Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites agreed to pursue this important project at the request of, and in partnership with, Georgia Department of Natural Resources whose Parks and Historic Sites Division manages the Little White House Site. Perhaps because of its designation as a national historic landmark, a common assumption is that the Little White House site is owned and managed by the National Park Service. In the years that followed President Roosevelt’s passing, the property was transferred the state of Georgia where it has been managed by the Department of Natural Resources since 1980. Today, Roosevelt’s Little White House and surrounding pools complex is among the most visited state historic sites in Georgia and a key to the Presidential Pathways Tourist District serving as a significant cultural resource in our nation’s history.

The historic pools and spring complex were last renovated in 1994-95. As evident, the techniques used to construct the Pools in the 1920’s have not been adequate to withstand the test of time. The current project will allow for the imperative restorations to improve, rehabilitate, and maintain the existing property by protecting the historic pools and natural essence of the warm springs for decades to come.  

At the time of the September 2022 grant announcement, Save America’s Treasures, funded through the Historic Preservation Fund, had proudly provided $356 million to more than 1,326 projects between 1999 and 2020. This award of $24.25 million will leverage more than $69 million in private and public investment in support of projects nationwide. The Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites is grateful to be awarded this prestigious gift for their work in preserving an important piece of American history. For more information on the Roosevelt Pools Restoration Project, please visit their website at www.preservethepools.org or call 770-383-8900.