The Cottage
The cottage now known as the FDR summer home was built in 1897 for Mrs. Hartman Kuhn, of Boston, an early guest of Campobello’s resort hotels. Mrs. Kuhn developed a fondness for Eleanor when she and Franklin summered at his mother’s cottage next door. When Mrs. Kuhn died, a provision in her will offered her cottage to FDR’s mother, Sara, at a bargain price ($5000.00). Franklin’s mother purchased the cottage furnished, with two hectares (5 acres) of land in 1909, and when she died, left the cottage to him.
Exhibiting design principles of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the cottage reveals specific references to early American colonial architecture. Principle considerations in the design of summer homes of the era were comfort, orientation to view and to sun, and the picturesque charm so valued by the Arts and Crafts Movement. 
Necessaries in the way of size, verandas, and numbers and types of rooms were also important.
Of wood frame construction, the sides of the two-and-a-half story structure are covered with cedar shingles. Originally, the roof, too, was covered with cedar shingles. All the trim is wood. Interiors are finished with lath and plaster, with a generous use of wooden trim for windows, doors, and baseboards.
The design of the house was altered in 1915
when Franklin had a new wing built on to provide additional space for his growing family. The addition blends well with the original design. The cottage is 36 meters long (119') and 10 meters (33') wide, and has seventy-six windows and seven fireplaces. Eighteen of the thirty-four rooms are bedrooms; six are bathrooms.
Franklin, Eleanor, and their growing family spent summers in the cottage from 1909 to 1921. Every summer, the Roosevelts brought a nurse and a governess to tutor and instruct the children, and several servants to run the cottage. In addition, several island residents were hired to help with the daily chores. The interior of the cottage was comfortable, but had neither electricity nor telephone. Aladdin lamps (kerosene) and candles were used throughout the house. Each morning, servants brought kerosene lamps from throughout the house to the back hall where the lamps were filled. Lamp wicks were trimmed and glass chimneys cleaned before the lamps were returned to their original locations.
Running water for bathing, cooking, and cleaning was gravity fed throughout the cottage from storage tanks on the third floor. Outside, a windmill and, when there was no wind, a single-cylinder gas engine pumped water from the well to the holding tank high on the tower. Gravity carried the water from the tower to storage tanks in the cottage attic. The dining room ice crock held drinking water, brought by horse and cart in large bottles from a spring called Barrel Well. A wood box at the bottom of the stairs to the second floor attests to the major source of heat, seven fireplaces. The kitchen stove (coal and wood-fired) also provided warmth.
Although the Roosevelt cottage is interpreted as much as possible as it was in 1920, the period of significance extends from the 1880s to the 1930s, the time span between FDR’s first and last visits to Campobello. Knowledgeable guides stations throughout the cottage provide interpretation and answer questions about the cottage, its historic furnishings, and the Roosevelt family.
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