Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum — Attraction in West Branch

I came through August 19th 2020, very possibly the worst time to visit in recent history. It was COVID so most everything was shut down. Then they just had the terrible derecho so a great number of trees has been taken down by the winds. Some very majestic trees toppled, what a mess.

The staff was friendly. I visited the period make shift town and some of the out buildings. was able to enter the replica boyhood home. I thought the final resting place of President and Mrs. Hoover was very elegant and stately, it was beautiful. The grounds were well kept and manicured around the final resting place. So terrible some of the great trees were now gone however.

There is a shelter build out back by the boy scouts. There is a good private restroom there.

I was able to take a longer walk through the prairie like young Hoover must have. A very pretty place which helped keep President Hoover Grounded. My great great relative was his Secretary of War.

Update, August 20th, 2022. Made it back through West Branch and visited again. Got in the Presidential Library and was blown away by the exhibit. What a great humanitarian Mr. Hoover was.

Got a better view of his final resting place. The grounds looked so much better since the derecho. Storm.

The staff was really friendly. I totally recommend any presidential home, library, or burial place. I have visited almost 20 other presidential sites since visiting here in August 2020.

Highly recommend...

While the museum is well maintained, there was nothing that really blew me away and it's a little on the small side -- you're not going to see Air Force One here (which wasn't even a thing in Hoover's time). Admission was $10, and there is a 22-minute film that summarizes Hoover's life in a theater off the entrance (spoiler alert: he dies at the end). It's a very good overview of our 31st president. I enjoyed the little historical village they had nearby with a working blacksmith, one-room schoolhouse, Hoover's boyhood home, and several other buildings. Be sure to visit Herbert and his wife Lou up on the hill, because the scenery is beautiful. If you're up for it, take a detour on the prairie walk to see some wildflowers and tall grass. You almost expect to see Carrie Ingalls tumbling...

The museum is pretty small for $10. You can watch a 23 min video that basically tells you what is on all of the plaques in the museum. They try to incorporate items from the time period and less actual presidential items owned by Hoover. They could use some cleaning up as there is a dead bug on one of the books that clearly should not be there. They currently have a depressing Russian famine exhibit as well. They buildings from Hoover's childhood are free to go into. You can walk to the gravesite or drive pretty close and park, depending on the number of visitors. They say "up a hill" but it's not so bad. The staff is very friendly and likes to talk, but she didn't seem to up to date with the actual exhibits...