Unlike his predecessors, Franklin D. Roosevelt made his papers available to the public by donating them to the federal government. On sixteen acres of land donated by himself and his mother Sara Delano Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt had a facility constructed to house his collection of historical papers, books, and memorabilia adjacent to his family’s estate of Springwood. Roosevelt turned the building over to the National Archives upon its completion in 1940, but the museum section of the facility was not dedicated until June 30, 1941.
