Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum Visitor Center

Must see historical site while in Staunton. The tour guides and other volunteers are bursting with knowledge and enthusiasm. I found the World War I section of the museum to be the most interesting.

I loved the little group of buildings that made up this museum. The grounds were nicely maintained and the gift shop had some very nice items. There are 3 floors in the house where Wilson was born and all but the top floor was accessible for wheelchair users.

Nice museum. It's not very big which was nice. Great WWI display and tour.

Very nicely-curated museum and historical birthplace of President Wilson. Guided tours offered about every 90 minutes included with admission. About $20 per person, with some discounts for seniors, students, etc.

We loved our little tour of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Museum! What a man he was. The collection of historical items was very interesting. Most especially the Pierce Arrow limo. Also the WWI trench exhibit was very poignant and fascinating.

It was not a very busy day so the fact that we had to circle the block to find the parking lot and I was a bit winded by the walk up the stairs to the entrance was part of the experience. I wish I had spent more time in the museum. The WWI exhibition in the basement was well done. Especially since I had just seen All Quiet on the Western Front. See the house he was born in as it was in the 1850’s was fascinating.

Your admission price gets you into the Woodrow Wilson Museum and a guided tour of the house his family lived when he was born. Parking is free. Very nice and knowledgeable staff. Our guide was Linda, fun and personable. If you enjoy going through old houses, you will enjoy this.

The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum is such a fascinating place to visit. It is well organized, set in chronological order from his birth to death, and gives interesting insight into his life. There is also a really old car from the time period you can see!! A bonus point is that the gift shop has really cheap goodies and lovely postcards. I have included some photos including: the old car, a quote from Woodrow Wilson, and a few other things inside the museum that you might find of interest. If you’re in the area and you like history, I really recommend going. This was so fun and such an educational experience.

Since I'm a history buff, I have been meaning to visit this Presidential Library. It's not a large museum but very informative. I recommend taking the guided tour of Wilson's boyhood home and then visiting the museum. It's located in a residential neighborhood next to Mary Baldwin college. The staff was very friendly and they have a well stocked gift shop. Plenty of parking. I really enjoyed the WWI exhibit down stairs and the President's automobile. I did learn quite a bit about post WWI and the woman's suffrage movement. If you enjoy Presidential history this is a good museum.

Our tour group , Eagle Rock tours from central Ohio was on a mystery trip and this was one of our stops. The information displayed was informative and the layout was easy to follow. Thank you for your stewardship.

The phenomenon of large presidential libraries is apparently a relatively recent one, so this president of a little more than a century ago, as of this writing, ended up with a small complex including a museum, a gift shop, and the house where he spent his antebellum years. The library element is apparently a collection of primary source documents related to his life that is only open to researchers by appointment. A tour costs a decent amount of money as it is a privately owned foundation, not taxpayer funded like the more modern presidential libraries. I had to wait forty minutes or so before taking a tour of the house, but I found that actually about right to peruse the museum slowly. It is not a huge building, but does include some detail and the underlying history is dense. This strikes me as a period not well covered in any of my education, but the Wilson presidency was dramatic, including World War I, major changes in government engineered by the president, and a global pandemic. All of this is relevant today. The house tour is a couple of floors. My tour guide was the museum supervisor and clearly knew her history. The museum as a whole is tonally kind of awkward, as it tries to make some attempt to balance the diverse contemporary perspectives on this president, who is hated by one modern political faction for his stances on racial issues, and another for his unprecedented expansion of federal power. My tour guide noted that he was the only president with a Ph.D., which perhaps explains some of this. Whatever one thinks of this president, both the history and the museum experience here are interesting.

First rate presidential library/museum in the downtown area of a lovely, historic, award-winning town. Curator Andrew Phillips and Librarian/Archivist Peggy Dillard obviously love their work and are eager to explain and answer questions. The Behind the Scenes Private Tour is highly recommended. Getting to see items and documents from the collections made us feel like VIPs. Loved the information about the Pierce Arrow. An overview of the ongoing archeological project on the grounds was fresh and thought-provoking.

This is where they slept, this is where they ate, this is where they bathed. That's the Snapchat from a tour. Not a single story from Wilson's childhood, that could help understand what shaped his philosophy and made him a president he was. A guide mentioned "he was a product of his time", but no reflections whatsoever on what made him one of the worst (or most controversial) presidents of the United States. Disappointing. The museum is pretty good in reflecting WWI reception in the U.S.

Private Parking lot behind building. Admission gives you access to the Museum with lots of memorabilia and history of Wilson and a tour of his birth home with all 3 floors. While the house was nice, the museum makes it worth the visit. Wilson was only an infant when he lived here before his family moved to Georgia. Highly recommend a visit if you want to learn more about Wilson and his legacy.

History unfolding. The museum is $10 and for $5 more you can have a guided tour of Woodrow's birthplace home. Pay the extra $5 The tour of the home is worth the entire entrance fee. Hunter was our tour guide. It is hard to believe he had only been doing this for one year. He was knowledgeable and not pretentious. He was open to questions and knew his stuff. The insightful and historical information was eye opening. Interestingly Woodrow only lived in the home for the first 17 months of his life.

I agree with most of the reviews. Here is a few things I would like to add. It's an old section of town. Narrow streets and if you have an RV, don't plan on coming here with anything more than a class B. Plenty of parking behind the museum and plan to walk up and down a lot of steps. We found the docent very knowledgeable and answered a lot of questions. The only downside of the museum was the birth house had many changes and not a whole lot of things from the president.

Interesting And Historical On our bucket list was to visit all the National President Library's and Museums. We have accomplished that and are now visiting the privately operated ones. The Museum was small but well done and interesting covering his full life. We also toured his birth home. The young docent gave us a wonderful insight on the lifestyle and history for the time period.

Only a few years ago, on a journey along the adjoining highway, I decided to make this library and museum part of a two-stop side trip to museums associated with historical figures important to the path of U.S. foreign policy: the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum in Staunton, VA and the (sadly now defunct) George C. Marshall Museum at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, VA. As someone who had studied International Relations with coursework in the related field of National Security, I felt it important to seek out a refresher on individuals who had tested and applied some of the ideas I had studied. In the case of the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum, I was most interested in the 28th president's role as a principal advocate of liberal internationalist foreign policy at the end of the first World War. Woodrow Wilson remains one of the country's most divisive leaders, to the point where I have seen arguments erupt between older and younger individuals who - in spite of holding to many of the same opinions - did not hold the same view of the 28th president, whose name has more recently been scrubbed off of buildings that bear it due to renewed focus on Wilson's segregationist politics (which led to one of the most disastrous and bigoted policies in American history in Wilson's choice to segregate the Federal government), track record as a Confederate apologist and anti-Reconstruction polemicist, hypocrisy on the topic of lynchings (which he had repeatedly publicly condemned, but ultimately did nothing about), and, most damningly, Wilson's praise for the infamously racist film Birth of a Nation (the very content of which was created to incite racial violence). All of which, added together, paints an unpleasant picture. Yet Wilson was also a leader whose complexities and contradictions shaped the modern world in a variety of ways, some negative and others positive (though the latter may depend on your own politics). Service in Wilson's administration was a kingmaking experience for two very different future presidents, Herbert Hoover and FDR, the latter of whom took not a few cues from Wilson. It also remains important to remember some of the "firsts" that occurred during the Wilson administration: Wilson was the first sitting president to go before Congress to endorse womens' right to vote, and appointed the first Jewish supreme court justice (specifically Brandeis, for his time considered a progressive firebrand). Although many contemporary Democrats would rather not claim ownership of Woodrow Wilson due to the racist politics mentioned earlier, it was through the Federal Reserve Act that Wilson set a course the Democratic party would continue to follow under subsequent presidents as the party of strong government oversight of and intervention in the economy, a stance that many Democrats insist is integral to the party platform even today. So, how, you might ask, does the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum choose to handle these issues? When I visited, my first goal was to visit the World War I exhibit, which features a tape playing the sound of gunfire and is designed to look like a trench. The exhibit contains graphic portrayals of battlefield injuries and candid discussions of how technology shaped warfare, causing massive suffering to those involved. Woodrow Wilson's name and image are largely absent from this section, which devotes the majority of its focus to the lived experience of a soldier. In neighboring sections of the museum, however, Wilson is portrayed much the way he was during my university and grad school days, in which his name was mentioned a great deal: as a foreign policy idealist who sought out international cooperation as a means of preventing and resolving conflict. At the time, I noticed a curious and somewhat alarming absence of sections addressing Wilson's problematic racial politics, making the museum's content appear biased in Wilson's favor - the uglier aspects of Wilson's legacy seemed to have at the time largely been omitted. However, this is something that the Library and Museum has taken great care to correct in the time since, and during the pandemic this museum has hosted a number of virtual and interactive History at Home programs that address the more harmful impacts of some of Wilson's viewpoints and policies. As for the museum's campus itself, much of which consists of the manse in which Woodrow Wilson was born - it is very much like stepping into another, much older world, like a sepia-toned portrait of a different time. Although many of the features of the campus (including its gardens) are newer in nature, they maintain the aesthetic of historical distance. This is an interesting place to visit if you happen to be in the area, although the museum collections and presentation should always be viewed with a critical eye.

I can't decide - should this be the kind of place where children are free because there is nothing here for them or should kid admission be prohibitively expensive to discourage their attendance? This was quite expensive - more so than the Frontier Village which was worth a whole morning! The WW Museum had a cool car but otherwise was a bit of a costly snooze.

The museum is actually a series of buildings, but not a bad museum for something that was built before monumental egos funded by taxpayers. Nice series of displays, interesting artifacts. I have not accessed the documents, but if you are in town you should stop by.

In a bucolic valley town abutting the Appalachians sits the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and Museum: a shrine to a president who perhaps half of Americans can't even name. That's not to say he is an insignificant figure in history; his roles in World War I and the aftermath, the civil rights movement, and women's suffrage were kinda huge. And not necessarily huge in a way that our country wishes to remember. The WWLM campus consists of his (early) childhood home and a small but extensive museum devoted to his life and presidency. You can only enter the home by taking a guided tour, and our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable about President Wilson and American history generally. We leaned that he grew up comfortably and was quite the academic before entering politics, and after suffering a debilitating stroke during his presidency, many historians believe it was his second wife who was really running the country. It's a fascinating tale, if overshadowed by a somewhat similar path followed by a later president (whose last name starts with an R and rhymes with "Schmoosevelt"). The staff are friendly and knowledgeable, the museum gives a relatively fair and objective view of President Wilson, which I appreciated. It's a quaint place that can't really hold a candle to the "official" presidential libraries that are part of the national system, yet it's certainly worth a visit if you're in the area.

I'm sadly unimpressed. The facility shows a lack of care. Spider webs including egg cases throughout. Evident lack of structural maintenance. The once beautiful boxwood garden suffered debilitating blight three to five years ago and is still just empty ground. Yes, this is not part of the taxpayer funded presidential library but if you have to do less to do it well then do less. The website says a 35 minute tour. Instead there is a 12 minute video and a one hour tour. The tour crams 20 minutes of information into an hour. Read that again. The tour is a rambling disjointed chat by a docent with nothing better to do. We've spent far longer on tours of other places and left feeling energized. Here we just wanted to find a place to get a drink. If the experience, without the self-guided tour of the separate museum, is going to be an hour and a quarter then post that on the website. Don't tell us 35 minutes and take more than twice of long. People make plans and appointments based on provided information. We had to skip lunch. Yes, docents are volunteers. Yes, volunteers need to be cherished. There need to be standards for professionalism. I was particularly disturbed by the number of times the docent apologized for the slaves leased by President Wilson's parents at the time of his birth. Talking about it once is fine. Don't flog a dead horse over something Mr. Wilson as a newborn had no control over. Add a complete and total lack of time management and the experience is really Meh. Note that there are three elements here: the Manse with tours at specified times only, the museum with self-guided tours, and the Presidential library (with most but not all content available through the Wilson elibrary) open by appointment only. While the Presidential library was a big part of why we chose to come to Staunton VA it was the low point of a wonderful visit.

The 28th president's library and museum in Staunton va. As I am a lover of history, I tend to locate and visit historical places wherever I go. When I was in Staunton I decided to pay Woodrow Wilson's birthplace a visit. When you go it's actually two buildings. The home itself houses the gift shop and a room where you can watch a video on Wilson. Guided tours are also available. The museum next door houses artifact from the ex presidents life including his restored car. The part I found to be the coolest was the recreation world war 1 trenches located on the bottom floor. Not a ton to see in comparison to other presidential museums I've been to but still pretty cool. I recommend paying a visit if you're in the area.

Woodrow Wilson's father was a Presbyterian minister, and the church provided this "manse" for his family in the 1850s, including the infant Woodrow. The church also provide three servants, who actually were leased slaves. So the future president, who was not known for his racial or social liberalism, grew up tended by slaves. They play down this aspect of Wilson at this little shrine to our World War I president and former Princeton head honcho. We stopped off on a trip to DC and think it's worth the $14 (adults) or $12 (senior rate) we paid to visit. The admission included a brief guided tour of the 1846 house where Wilson was born and a self-guided visit to the small Wilson museum. The Wilson library and archives, such as they are, are also housed here, but they are open only to scholars. There also are small gardens, but in November they were mostly dead bushes and plants. The museum and house tour are interesting, but don't expect too much. This isn't the JFK or Nixon or George W. Bush library, funded by lavish tax dollars. It's run by a private foundation. For me, the most interesting exhibit was the beautiful 1919 Pierce Arrow limo on display. It was purchased for the president by some of his wealthy pals.

They have done a phenomenal job with this museum. It is a Presidential Library, but not a part of the Presidential Library System that you generally think of. This library was created, along with the commemoration of his birthplace, by Mrs. Wilson. There is the museum portion about his Presidency, and then you can also tour his birthplace. The museum is also a part of the Blue Star Museum program (from Memorial Day through Labor Day) which means that it is free for military families. There is a scavenger hunt for the kids to do along the way, which I always think is such a great idea to keep kids engaged and excited about learning as they walk through the museum. The coolest exhibit was the Presidential car! The area around the museum is gorgeous, parking is easy as well.

The Woodrow Wilson Library/Museum was worth a trip if your in the area and wanting something to do. I don't think I would travel a far distance to visit as the exhibit is fairly small (about 5 rooms) but had some interesting artifacts such as Woodrow Wilson's limo and a life size recreation of WW1 trench. Using our student discount it was $10 a person. We were offered a free tour of the birth house of the president which we attended that lasted about an hour (a little long for me). While on the birth tour the guide mentioned that Wilson was born in Staunton and only stayed there for 1 year before moving... and later returned to visit as president elect... which kinda dampened the expensive a little for us. The house has a few original items, some allegedly newly found. The tour talked about the girls college across the street and it's role during the civil war, slaves, religion, and a variety of other topics. It was worth a visit, but don't plan the entire day around it.

Great little museum, this is the place to go for a Woodrow Wilson museum. While not huge, it packs a lot of information and original artifacts in the house tour where Wilson was born and the library and museum nearby. His actual Presidential limo, which still works and is used to special occasions is the main piece but there are lots of other items to see from his early years. It must be noted that Wilson spent little time here, as he was young when his father accepted another job at a different church and moved the family. That being said the curator focuses much of the exhibit on the parents and family instead of just the President himself.

Woodrow Wilson is one of our most influential presidents, and regardless of whether you may think he was a "good" or "bad" president or person... understanding this man's life is important to understanding our history. I highly recommend this museum... and I also highly recommend reading the book, Wilson, by A. Scott Berg.

Worth checking out if you're in the area. We spent 2 hours taking the tour (which I'd recommend) and walking around. The tour led us through the various rooms of the house in which Wilson spent the earliest part of his life, including the slave quarters and the yard outside. Among the interesting facts we learned were that Wilson was probably dyslexic, and that he lost the popular vote yet won the electoral college by a 4x margin.

An absolutely great museum. Don't forget to check out the WWI section of this museum, while you're here. Don't forget to check out the campus of Mary Baldwin college(my mother's alma mater), and take a little bit of time to walk around it's charming downtown, if you ever visit Staunton. Just a shame I could've gotten a FTR, if I'd written this right after I returned from my Williamsburg trip in April. Grrrr!

I am visiting every presidential library in the country, and I recently had the opportunity to visit the Woodrow Wilson library. He was a president of many accomplishments: - He played more rounds of golf than any other president (1000+). - After more than one hundred years of struggle, Wilson helped establish a European-style central bank (the Federal Reserve), and the dollar has lost 98% of its value since then. - We have Wilson to thank for the establishment of the income tax. - Alcoholic beverages were banned in 1919 (Prohibition) by the 18th Amendment. - Wilson campaign slogan in 1916 was "He kept us out of war". In 1917, he brought the US into WWI calling it "the war to end war". - Wilson established the first nationalization of industry (War Materials Board) and the first propaganda office (Public Committee for Information). - The Sedition Act of 1918 made it illegal, punishable by death, to speak ill of the US government or policies in wartime, and is considered the most anti-speech legislation in US history. - After a series of strokes Wilson served the last year of his term as a near-invalid. I learned a lot about the Wilson presidency from his library, and you can too!

WHY hasn't anyone reviewed this excellent presidential museum? Anyone interested in presidential and early 20th century American history should visit if they're traveling on I-81 or I-64. Staunton is nice small city too. Be sure to stay at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel within walking distance of the museum.

Great museum in a charming town worth a visit if you are interested in American History or WWI history. Like most presidential libraries, you get a pretty superficial view of Woodrow Wilson as a man and president without any of the down and dirty of some of his more difficult moments, but the birthplace does a great tour, and there are some interesting exhibits and artifacts in the museum proper as well. Great, friendly place to while away an hour or two, brush up on your history, and marvel over the fact that the more things change, the more they seem to stay the same...

I love presidential places. This one has an interesting but very small museum with the home Wilson was born in. $14 per person to get in and the parking was terrible for a small town. Clean, friendly and informative.

I went by without checking out the website for hours of operation. After I found out they were closed I was disappointed, but I was going to thank them and leave. But, Bob, an employee who doesn't work as a docent, went out of his way and gave me a personal tour! It was wonderful. I learned so much. They are all so very nice and made me feel welcome even though they were there to do other aspects of their jobs today. They were so kind. I'll go back when I return to Staunton.

Beautiful classic building, the library is beautiful! Great place to visit when passing by or just on a stroll. Very nice staff, education field trips are always successful.

Great hospitality and very knowledgeable staff. Love the set up and exhibits. It's obvious that they've taken great care in presenting and preserving the historic site. I genuinely enjoyed our tour guide. The gift shop was quaint and filled with lovely items. If you have about 2 hours - spend them here! Our history is everything!

Nice museum, and the birthplace of Wilson is located on the property. Not one of my favorite presidents, but much to learn here. Excellent, knowledgeable and friendly staff.

We stopped here on the way home and took the 1:30 pm tour. We arrived early (~1 pm) enough to see the intro film, browse at the gift shop and see part of the museum. The museum includes a limo car used by Wilson, an exhibit on WW I downstairs (no elevator for it; not ADA compliant), and a few rooms on President Wilson's life and career. The tour starts outside the museum and goes through the two lower levels of the Wilson home. The tour guide was excellent. After the tour, we saw the remainder of the museum. The tour is a drop expensive ($14 for adults; no AAA discount) and the parking area is a bit smallish. (It's a bit expected for a location in downtown.) Other than that, I highly recommend it. There is a price break for seniors and children. I think that children of age 8+ would enjoy the museum and tour.