39°38′54″N 77°27′54″W / 39.64833°N 77.46500°W / 39.64833; -77.46500Coordinates: 39°38′54″N 77°27′54″W / 39.64833°N 77.46500°W / 39.64833; -77.46500

Camp David

Type Military base

Site information

Owner U.S. Federal Government

Controlled by   United States
United States Navy

Open to the public No

Site history

Built 1935 (1935)

Built by Works Progress Administration

Events Camp David
Camp David Accords 2000 Camp David
Camp David Summit 38th G8 summit

Garrison information

Occupants President of the United States First Lady of the United States

Camp David
Camp David is the country retreat for the President of the United States. It is located in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland, also near Emmitsburg, Maryland
Maryland about 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of Washington, D.C.[1][2][3] It is officially known as the Naval Support Facility Thurmont, because it is technically a military installation, and staffing is primarily provided by the United States
United States Navy and the United States
United States Marine Corps. Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David
Camp David was built as a camp for federal government agents and their families by the WPA. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938.[4] In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La" (for the fictional Himalayan paradise in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon
Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton, which he had jokingly referenced as the source of the Doolittle Raid
Doolittle Raid earlier that year). Camp David
Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David.[5] The Catoctin Mountain Park
Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on park maps due to privacy and security concerns, although it can be seen through the use of publicly accessible satellite images.[3]

Contents

1 Presidential use 2 Security issues 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Presidential use[edit] Since it was built, every president has made use of the retreat.

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt hosted Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill in May 1943.[6] Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower held his first cabinet meeting there on November 22, 1955 following hospitalization and convalescence he required after a heart attack suffered in Denver, Colorado on September 24.[7] Eisenhower met there with Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev for two days of discussions in September 1959.[8] John Kennedy
John Kennedy and his family often enjoyed riding and other recreational activities there, and Kennedy often allowed White House staff and Cabinet members to use the retreat when he or his family were not there.[citation needed] Lyndon Johnson
Lyndon Johnson met with advisors in this setting and hosted both Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt
Harold Holt and Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson
Lester B. Pearson there.[9] Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon was a frequent visitor. He personally directed the construction of a swimming pool and other improvements to Aspen Lodge.[10] Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford often rode his snowmobile around Camp David
Camp David and hosted Indonesian President Suharto
Suharto there.[11] Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords
Camp David Accords there in September 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.[6] Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan visited the retreat more than any other president.[citation needed] In 1984, Reagan hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.[12] George H. W. Bush's daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch, was married there in 1992, in the first ever wedding held at Camp David.[13] During Bill Clinton's time in office, British Prime Minister Tony Blair was among the many visitors that the President hosted at Camp David.[14] George W. Bush
George W. Bush hosted dignitaries, including President of Russia Vladimir Putin, there in 2003,[15][16] and hosted British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in 2007.[17] George W. Bush
George W. Bush also hosted Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Anders Fogh Rasmussen in June 2006.[18] Barack Obama
Barack Obama chose Camp David
Camp David to host the 38th G8 summit
38th G8 summit in 2012.[19] President Obama also hosted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev at Camp David,[20] as well as the GCC Summit there in 2015.[21] During his first year in office, Donald Trump
Donald Trump visited Camp David
Camp David on five occasions, generally preferring to spend his weekends at one of his several eponymous properties.[22]

Security issues[edit] On July 2, 2011, an F-15 intercepted a small two-seat passenger plane flying near Camp David, when President Obama was in residence. The civilian aircraft, which was out of radio communication, was intercepted approximately 6 miles (10 km) from the presidential retreat. The F-15 escorted the aircraft out of the area, and it landed in nearby Hagerstown, Maryland, without incident. The civilian plane's occupants were flying between two Maryland
Maryland towns and were released without charge.[23] On July 10, 2011, an F-15 intercepted another small two-seat passenger plane flying near Camp David
Camp David when President Barack Obama
Barack Obama was again in residence; a total of three planes were intercepted over that July 9 weekend.[24] Gallery[edit]

Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill at then named Shangri-La, May 1943

President Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with his National Security Council at Laurel Lodge, 1955

Main Lodge during Eisenhower administration, 1959

David Eisenhower
David Eisenhower (age 12), grandson of President Eisenhower, poses with sign named in his honor, 1960

John F. Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, Jr., and Caroline Kennedy
Caroline Kennedy (riding 'Tex')

President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson with Ambassadors Ellsworth Bunker
Ellsworth Bunker and W. Averell Harriman exiting Aspen cabin, April 9, 1968

Richard and Pat Nixon
Pat Nixon walking their dogs in Camp David.

Camp David
Camp David meeting discussing Vietnam situation – Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger, and Maj. Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., 1972

Richard Nixon, Camp David.

Gerald and Betty Ford, daughter Susan and Liberty, at Camp David

President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, and Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter meet at the beginning of the Camp David
Camp David Summit in 1978.

Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin at Camp David
Camp David in 1978

Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin at Camp David, 1978.

Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge patio, September 6, 1978.

Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, and Anwar Sadat
Anwar Sadat at Camp David, September 7, 1978.

Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan in Aspen Lodge, 1984.

Thatcher and Reagan walk at Camp David
Camp David in 1986.

George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush meets with his National Security advisors in the Laurel Lodge conference room on August 4, 1990.

Play media

President Clinton with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak
Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat
Yasser Arafat at Camp David
Camp David peace talks, July 2000.

George W. Bush
George W. Bush meets with his advisors at Camp David
Camp David on January 17, 2004, while preparing for his State of the Union
State of the Union address.

From Camp David, Vice President Dick Cheney
Dick Cheney and members of the Interagency Team on Iraq participate in a video teleconference with President George W. Bush
George W. Bush in Baghdad, Iraq.

Shinzō Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and George W. Bush
George W. Bush at Camp David, April 2007.

President George W. Bush
George W. Bush and Chief of Staff Josh Bolten walk together with the President's dog Barney at Camp David, July 21, 2007.

Barack Obama
Barack Obama and Joe Biden
Joe Biden at Camp David
Camp David in 2010.

World leaders at the 2012 G8 Summit. (Clockwise) Obama (standing), Cameron, Medvedev, Merkel, Van Rompuy, Barroso, Noda, Monti, Harper, and Hollande.

See also[edit]

Government of the United States
United States portal Maryland
Maryland portal

President's Guest House
President's Guest House (Blair House), another official White House lodging for guests Camp Misty Mount Historic District
Camp Misty Mount Historic District and Camp Greentop
Camp Greentop Historic District, built at the same time in Catoctin Mountain Park
Catoctin Mountain Park as Camps 1 and 2. Official residence Orange One Presidential Townhouse, the official guest house for former U.S. Presidents Rapidan Camp, the predecessor of Camp David
Camp David from 1929 to 1933 Site R, bunker and communications center near Camp David Trowbridge House, adjacent to Blair House and soon to be renovated to become the new guest house for former Presidents White House, official residence of the President of the United States since 1800

References[edit]

^ "Park Map Viewer." Catoctin Mountain Park. Retrieved on February 4, 2011. ^ "Thurmont town, Maryland." United States
United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on February 4, 2011. ^ a b "Frequently Asked Questions." Catoctin Mountain Park, Retrieved on February 4, 2011. "10. Where is Camp David? The Presidential Retreat is within the park however, it is not open to the public and its location is not shown on our park maps for both security and privacy. If you're interested in historical information, visit our Presidential Retreat webpage." ^ "12 WPA Projects that Still Exist". How Stuff Works. Publications International, Ltd. Retrieved March 11, 2009.  ^ Eisenhower, David; Julie Nixon Eisenhower (2010). Going Home to Glory: A Memoir of Life with Dwight David Eisenhower, 1961–1969. New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 31.  ^ a b "Camp David". Whitehouse.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2009.  ^ "Dwight D. Eisenhower: Message Prepared for the Conference on Fitness of American Youth".  ^ "Khrushchev and the Spirit of Camp David". aboutcampdavid.blogspot.no. December 28, 2012.  ^ "272 - Address at the State Department's Foreign Policy Conference for Educators". The American Presidency Project. June 19, 1967.  ^ W. Dale Nelson, The President is at Camp David
Camp David (Syracuse University Press, 1995), pp. 69-94. ^ "Camp David: A History of the Presidential Retreat". Infoplease.com. July 18, 1942. Retrieved June 29, 2009.  ^ File:Thatcher Reagan Camp David
Camp David sofa 1984.jpg on the English Wikipedia ^ "Bush's Daughter Marries With 'a Minimum of Fuss'". The New York Times. June 28, 1992.  ^ E., CAMPBELL, DOUGLAS (2016). CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT : how the u.s. government functions after all hell breaks loose. [S.l.]: LULU COM. ISBN 9781365614422. OCLC 983641588.  ^ Sanger, David (September 27, 2003). "With issues to resolve, Bush welcomes Putin to Camp David". The New York Times. Retrieved August 6, 2011.  ^ "Camp David".  ^ "Brown to meet Bush at Camp David". BBC News Online. July 26, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2011.  ^ "Fogh på besøg hos Bush i Camp David" [Fogh visiting Bush at Camp David]. Politiken
Politiken (in Danish). June 9, 2006. Retrieved January 2, 2014.  ^ " White House
White House moves G8 summit from Chicago to Camp David". CBS Chicago. CBS Chicago. March 5, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2012.  ^ "US hopes Assad can be eased aut with Russia's aid". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2012.  ^ "Statement by the Press Secretary on the United States-GCC Summit". April 17, 2015.  ^ "Trump spent 38 weekends at his own properties during first year in office". Louisville Courier-Journal. January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 19, 2018.  ^ "NORAD intercepts aircraft near Camp David, where President Obama staying with family". The Washington Post. July 2, 2011. Retrieved July 2, 2012.  ^ Weil, Martin (July 10, 2011). "Jet fighters intercept planes 3 times over weekend near Camp David". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 26, 2015. 

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camp David.

Official website from White House
White House page Camp David
Camp David from the Federation of American Scientists Digital documents regarding Camp David
Camp David from the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

v t e

White House
White House Military Office

White House
White House Communications Agency Presidential Airlift Group White House
White House Medical Unit Camp David Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1) Presidential Food Service White House
White House Transportation Agency

v t e

Official government residences in North America

 Antigua and Barbuda: Government House (GG)  Bahamas: Government House (GG)  Barbados: Government House (GG) Ilaro Court
Ilaro Court (PM)  Canada: Rideau Hall
Rideau Hall (Mon & GG) Citadelle of Quebec
Citadelle of Quebec (GG) 24 Sussex Drive
24 Sussex Drive (PM) Harrington Lake (PM) Rideau Cottage
Rideau Cottage (PM - temporary)  Cuba: Presidential Palace (former)  Dominica: Government House  Dominican Republic: National Palace  Grenada: Government House (GG)  Haiti: National Palace  Jamaica: King's House (GG) Vale Royal (PM)  Mexico: National Palace Los Pinos  Puerto Rico: La Fortaleza  Saint Kitts and Nevis: Government House (GG)  Saint Lucia: Government House (GG)  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Government House (GG)  Trinidad and Tobago: President's House St. Anns Diplomatic Residence (PM)  United States: White House 42nd Floor Apartment Camp David One Observatory Circle Presidential Emergency Facility President's Guest House Presidential Townhouse Tingey House Trowbridge House

Notes

Monarch
Monarch (Mon) Governor-general
Governor-general (GG) Lieutenant-governor (LG) P