Jimmy Carter National Historical Park
The Jimmy Carter National Historical Park, located in Plains, Georgia, preserves sites associated with Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the United States. These include his residence, boyhood farm, school, and the town railroad depot, which served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election. The building which used to be Plains High School serves as the park's museum and visitor center. When Carter lived in Plains, the area surrounding the residence was under the protection of the United States Secret Service. The residence is also the burial site of Carter and his wife, First Lady Rosalynn Carter. While the residence itself is undergoing renovation and is not open to the public, the adjoining Carter gravesite and memorial garden is publicly accessible.
The Carters returned to Plains in 1981. The former President and First Lady pursued many of the goals of his administration through the Carter Center in Atlanta, which has programs to alleviate human suffering and to promote human rights and world peace. Carter taught Sunday school at Maranatha Baptist Church, which is open to the public.
It was established in 1987 by as Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and renamed as a national historical park in 2021.
Visitor center and museum
The former Plains High School, which both Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter attended and operated from 1921 until 1979, now serves as the park's visitor center and museum. It features a classroom, principal's office, and auditorium which have been restored to look as they would have when Jimmy Carter attended. An exact replica of the Resolute desk, which Jimmy Carter brought back to the Oval Office to use as his presidential desk, is exhibited, as is his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize. Other rooms feature exhibits that explain the lives of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter, and a short video focuses on the life of Jimmy Carter according to his friends, neighbors, and family.Boyhood home and farm
The farm in the nearby unincorporated community of Archery where Jimmy lived from age four in 1928 until he left for college in 1941 has been restored to its appearance before electricity was installed in 1938.Campaign headquarters
The former Plains Train Depot, where Carter headquartered his presidential campaign, now serves as a museum focusing on the 1976 Presidential Campaign and Election. It features exhibits which highlight Jimmy Carter's campaign for President. The train depot operated from 1888 until 1951, when all public transportation to and from the area ceased due to years of declining profitability that was exaggerated during the Great Depression.Carter home, burial site and memorial garden
The long-time home of the Carters at 209 Woodland Drive, while not yet open to the public, is a part of the park. The Carters lived in the home from 1961. During his presidency, it was used as his Summer White House. The intent is for the National Park Service to turn the house into a museum and open it to the public in the future.Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter are buried across Woodland Drive from the house. The gravesite and a memorial garden are located near a pond and by a willow tree. After renovations which were begun after Jimmy Carter's death to make the area publicly accessible, the Carters gravesite, memorial garden and Woodland Drive were open to the public in July 2025.