ALS in pencil, likely as president, signed “H. H.,” one page, 5.5 x 8, no date. Letter to "Akerson," his White House Press Secretary George E. Akerson, concerning "Shenandoah Park," in part: "Arrange date for someone to accompany Sullivan to the Creek and old Fishing Camp which he had in mind for us. Also get the Cadillac Limousine from where ever it is for Sullivan to use going over." In fine condition. Hoover is quite uncommon in ALSs, and those written as president are exceedingly rare—in 1932, he claimed, ‘I do not write more than one letter per annum with my own hand.’ Given the context of this particular letter, it was most likely written during his presidency: it is addressed to his White House press secretary; it seems to reference the Rapidan Camp in Shenandoah National Park, which was founded shortly after his inauguration and served as a rustic retreat throughout his administration; and Hoover took delivery of a Cadillac limousine at the White House in 1929. It is also possible that it was written just prior to his presidency: Hoover first hired Akerson as his private secretary in 1926; his desire to build a woodland retreat became known while he was president-elect a few months before his inauguration; and he could be referring to a different Cadillac.
The site for the camp, located at the headwaters of the Rapidan River, was finalized and purchased within three weeks of President Hoover's inauguration, financed from his own personal fortune. First Lady Lou Henry Hoover oversaw the design and construction, which was provided for free by the Marines as a 'military exercise.' It quickly became Hoover's beloved weekend getaway spot. In an August 1929 speech, he spoke fondly of the camp: ‘I fear that the summer camp we have established on the Rapidan has the reputation of being devoted solely to fishing. That is not the case...but fishing is an excuse and a valid reason of the widest range of usefulness for temporary retreat from our busy world…Fishing seems to be the sole avenue left to Presidents through which they may escape to their own thoughts and may live in their own imaginings and find relief from the pneumatic hammer of constant personal contacts, and refreshment of mind in the babble of rippling brooks.’ In addition to its recreational use, Hoover utilized the site to host secure meetings with world leaders—it was essentially a precursor to Camp David. Although he purchased the land and building materials with his own funds, Hoover donated the camp to the federal government to be used as a retreat by future presidents after losing his re-election bid in 1932.
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