Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) first came to Campobello Island in 1883 with his parents, James and Sara Roosevelt, when he was one year old. The Roosevelts were fond of visiting Campobello with their young son as the Island boasted to be “hay fever free”. The Roosevelts first stayed in the large hotels, the Tyn-e-Mays or the Tyn-e-Coed, and later built a cottage close to the current FDR Cottage.

Franklin and his parents spent many summers on Campobello Island, and Franklin enjoyed the companionship of both summer resident and local children. He was fond of leading his friends on romps along the forest paths and loved to sail his father’s sailboat, the Half Moon. His excursions took him as far as St Andrews, Saint John and even south to Mount Desert Island. When Franklin was a teen, he became an avid golf enthusiast. At the age of 18, Franklin became both secretary and treasurer of The Golf Club. The golf course still exists today, albeit in a new location, and is one of the best in the Canadian Maritimes.

In 1903, Franklin’s cousin, Anna Eleanor Roosevelt, came to visit the Roosevelts on Campobello Island. Later that fall, Franklin and Eleanor announced their engagement. They married in 1904 and went on to spend many summers on the island with their children.

On a visit to Campobello Island in the summer of 1921, during a sail on the Half Moon, Franklin fell into the bay and later that night, woke with a terrible fever, severe chills, and leg paralysis. Franklin was initially tended by Eleanor, but once his paralysis was considered serious, he was relocated back to New York to consult experts and recover at home. It was later determined that he had contracted polio. Although Franklin fell sick on Campobello Island, it was concluded he was exposed to polio during a campaign visit to a Boy Scout camp in the USA.

Franklin went on to win the Presidency in 1931, serve four unprecedented terms, and is the only President to have served with a disability. Franklin and Eleanor were not able to spend much time on Campobello Island after he contracted polio, however both of them remained quite fond of their “Beloved Island”.

IN OUR COLLECTION