Built 1905 VLR # 002-0617 Opened 1905 Phone +1 434-286-6106 | NRHP Reference # 88003211 Designated VLR April 19, 1988 Area 36 ha Added to NRHP 1 February 1989 | |
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Location VA 712, Glendower, near Charlottesville, Virginia Address 711, Scottsville, VA 24590, USA Similar Youngs Memorial Cemetery, Theodore Roosevelt's Maltese, Theodore Roosevelt Memorial, Porcellian Club, Roosevelt Arch | ||
Pine Knot is a historic cabin located 14 miles south of Charlottesville, Virginia in Albemarle County, Virginia. The cabin was owned and occupied by former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt and his wife Edith Kermit Roosevelt, and used by Roosevelt and the first lady while he was president, although no official business took place there. In 1905, Mrs. Roosevelt spent $280 to purchase the fifteen-acre property with its rustic worker's cabin, and she bought an additional seventy-five acres in 1911. The cabin is owned by the Theodore Roosevelt Association and is open for visits by appointment.
Background
The idea of purchasing the cabin was to be an escape for both the First Lady and the President. President Roosevelt was known throughout his presidency to travel frequently, many times to experience the natural wonders of certain areas such as in the states of Oklahoma and Colorado. While traveling Mrs. Roosevelt decided to purchase the property after visiting family friends Joe and Will Wilmer on May 6, 1905. Realizing her husband's love for the surrounding countryside, Mrs. Roosevelt decided to purchase the cabin to help her and her husband "rest and repair" from the strain of political life in Washington D.C. The cabin was surrounded by the wilderness, which appealed to Mrs. Roosevelt. A description characterized it thus: "tucked away among red and white oak, red cedars, dogwoods, red maples and black cherry trees, was a rustic worker's cabin".
The cabin was built in 1905, and is a simple two-story, single-pile frame dwelling. It features a deep, full two-story front porch which extends across the front of the facade. It has an unfinished interior and is without modern conveniences of any kind.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.