Jimmy Carter National Historical Park (Episode 78)

Send us Fan MailHe grew up in a house with no bathroom in the middle of nowhere, Georgia. His closest caretakers were Black neighbors in a community the segregated South shut out. After being President of the United States, he came back and lived in the same small ranch house he and Rosalynn built in 1961. When he died, he was buried in his front yard.Jimmy Carter National Historical Park in Plains, Georgia tells 100 years of history — from birth to death — of two people who never stopped asking what more they could do. Jennifer Hopkins, Lead Education Ranger at the park, joins The Parks Podcast to share what you'll find there and why it's worth a full day (at minimum).In this episode: — The boyhood farm set to 1937 — a working farm where President Carter's own voice tells his stories when you push the button — Jack and Rachel Clark — the Black neighbors who helped raise young Jimmy, whose house has the longest audio in the park — Earl Carter — far more than a peanut farmer. The businessman behind a commissary, an electrical corporation, and a New Deal farm program — Rosalynn's story — why she didn't want to come back to Plains, and how she became one of the most effective First Ladies in history — The Peanut Brigade — how Plains residents spent their own money canvassing the nation in 1976, one of the first grassroots campaigns in American presidential history — The campaign headquarters — a one-bathroom building that won a presidential election — Plains High School — now an immersive museum where you can sit at the Resolute desk and design your own campaign button — The Carter Gardens — open to the public, and where both President and Mrs. Carter are buried — When to go, what to bring, how to plan (September Peanut Festival, anyone?)Recommended reading: An Hour Before Daylight by Jimmy Carter First Lady from Plains by Rosalynn CarterSupport the show