Mamie Geneva Doud Eisenhower was born in 1896, in Boone, Iowa. She was the daughter of John Sheldon Doud and Elivera Mathilda Carlson Doud. When Mamie was nine, the family moved to Colorado. when. Mamie attended local Denver public schools. In 1915, she graduated from the private Wolcott School. The Wolcott was a former school for girls located at 1410 N Marion St. Denver. The Wolcott School building is still standing. This historic Cheesman Park neighborhood building has been converted into an apartment complex.
Former Wolcott School building at1410 N Marion St. Denver, Colorado. Now the Wolcott Apartments.Photo byColorado Martini Publishing LLC
In her early twenties, while vacationing in Texas in 1916, she met Second Lieutenant Dwight D. Eisenhower. They were married on July 1, 1916, at the Doud family home in Denver.
The Summer White House in Denver
In 1905, the Douds moved to Denver, and lived at 101 Logan Street. In 1906, John Doud bought a residence at 750 Lafayette Street. Both home are still staying.
The Lafayette Street single-family home was built at a cost of $6925 in 1905. In today’s market, this historic home is estimated to be worth $1,632,400.
750 Lafayette St., Denver Mamie Doud on porch (right) holding bunny. Mr. And Mrs. Doud in car (Winston 1906). Sisters in background.Photo byDenver Public Library Digital Collection
The carriage house, originally used to park a car, was remodeled in the 1950s to accommodate the Doud's servants. During Eisenhower's presidency, the carriage house was used to house Secret Service agents.
Many notable events happened in this historical home. Mrs. Eisenhower lived in this house from 1906 until she married Dwight in 1916. The Eisenhowers were married in the first-floor music room on July 1, 1916. Their son, John Sheldon Doud Eisenhower was born in Denver on August 3, 1922, while Mamie was living in the house. She delivered him at Denver General Hospital. Now known as Denver Health. John became the 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium.
After World War II, the Eisenhowers would spend extended periods of time at the home. They would spend long winter and summer vacations at the residence and Dwight often used the house as the starting point for fishing trips into the Colorado Rockies.
The house came to be known as the Summer White House. President Eisenhower had his heart attack in the house on September 23, 1955, and he was treated at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Aurora, Colorado. Now part of the CU Anschutz Campus. More about his heart attack in future articles.
The First Lady’s parents and two of her sisters, who died young, are buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.Photo byFindAGrave.com
After both her parents passed away, the First Lady cleaned out the house and put it on the market in July 1961. The house was sold in September 1961. She donated many items from the home to the Colorado Republican Party. They were later sold in a fundraiser auction. Other items were donated to the Colorado Historical Society. The house is still in private hands and can only be viewed from the outside. The First Lady’s parents and two of her sisters, who died young, are buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.
In 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower and First Lady Mamie Eisenhower took a farewell tour through Denver.Photo byHistory Colorado
After leaving the White House, the Eisenhowers retired to Gettysburg. When Dwight passed away in 1969, Mamie continued living at the Gettysburg property and was a frequent guest at the Nixon White House. On November 1, 1979, Mamie Eisenhower passed away in Washington, D.C. She was buried next to her husband and son at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Kansas.
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