Camp David

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

Camp
David

Location of Camp David in Maryland

Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States. It is located in wooded hills about 62 miles (100 km) north-northwest of Washington, D.C., in Catoctin Mountain Park near Thurmont, Maryland.^[1][2][3] It is officially known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont and because it is technically a military installation, staffing is primarily provided by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.

First known as Hi-Catoctin, 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, 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 by British author James Hilton). Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David.^[5]

Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on park maps due to privacy and security concerns.^[3]

Presidential use

Every president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has made use of the retreat now named Camp David.

• Roosevelt hosted Sir Winston Churchill in May 1943.^[6]
• Dwight D. Eisenhower held his first cabinet meeting there on November 22, 1955 following hospitalization and convalescence required after a heart attack suffered in Denver, Colorado on September 24.^[7]
• John F. 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.
• Lyndon B. Johnson met with advisors in this setting and hosted both Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt and Canadian Prime minister Lester B. Pearson there.
• Richard Nixon was a frequent visitor and did much to add to and modernize the facilities.
• Gerald Ford often rode his snowmobile around Camp David and hosted Indonesian President Suharto there.^[8]
• Jimmy Carter brokered the Camp David Accords there in September 1978 between Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin.^[6]
• Ronald Reagan visited the retreat more than any other president. In 1984, Reagan hosted British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.^[9]
• George H. W. Bush's daughter, Dorothy Bush Koch, was married there in 1992, in the first ever wedding held at Camp David.^[10]
• Bill Clinton used Camp David more as his tenure in office progressed and hosted the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on several occasions in addition to numerous celebrities.
• George W. Bush hosted dignitaries, including President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, there in 2003,^[11][12] and hosted British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, in 2007.^[13] George W. Bush also hosted Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen in June 2006.^[14]
• Barack Obama chose Camp David to host the 38th G8 summit in 2012.^[15] President Obama also hosted Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at Camp David,^[16] as well as the GCC Summit there in 2015.^[17]

Security issues

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 towns and were released without charge.^[18]

On July 10, 2011, an F-15 intercepted another small two-seat passenger plane flying near Camp David when President Barack Obama was again in residence; a total of three planes were intercepted over that July 9 weekend.^[19]

Gallery

• 
  Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill at then named Shangri-La, May 1943
• 
  President Dwight D. Eisenhower meets with his National Security Council at Laurel Lodge, 1955
• 
  Main Lodge during Eisenhower administration, 1959
• 
  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 (riding 'Tex')
• 
  President Lyndon B. Johnson with Ambassadors Ellsworth Bunker and W. Averell Harriman exiting Aspen cabin, April 9, 1968
• 
  Richard and Pat Nixon walking their dogs in Camp David.
• 
  Camp David meeting discussing Vietnam situation – Richard Nixon with Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, and Maj. Gen. Alexander Haig Jr., 1972
• 
  Richard Nixon, Camp David. A photograph much used to dramatize President Nixon's isolation at the height of the Watergate crisis.
• 
  Gerald and Betty Ford, daughter Susan and Liberty, at Camp David
• 
  President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat, and Jimmy Carter meet at the beginning of the Camp David Summit in 1978.
• 
  Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter and Menachem Begin at Camp David in 1978
• 
  Menachem Begin at Camp David, 1978.
• 
  Anwar Sadat, Jimmy Carter, and Menachem Begin meet on the Aspen Lodge patio, September 6, 1978.
• 
  Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, and Anwar Sadat at Camp David, September 7, 1978.
• 
  Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan in Aspen Lodge, 1984.
• 
  Thatcher and Reagan walk at Camp David in 1986.
• 
  George H. W. Bush meets with his National Security advisors in the Laurel Lodge conference room on August 4, 1990.
• 
  President Clinton with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat at Camp David peace talks, July 2000.
• 
  George W. Bush meets with his advisors at Camp David on January 17, 2004, while preparing for his State of the Union address.
• 
  From Camp David, Vice President Dick Cheney and members of the Interagency Team on Iraq participate in a video teleconference with President George W. Bush in Baghdad, Iraq.
• 
  Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, and George W. Bush at Camp David, April 2007.
• 
  President 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 and Joe Biden at 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.
• 
  President Barack Obama shakes hands with Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the State of Kuwait, as Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) leaders prepare to have a group photo with the President outside of the Laurel Cabin at the conclusion of a summit meeting at Camp David, Md., May 14, 2015.

See also

• Blair House, another official White House lodging for guests
• Camp Misty Mount Historic District and Camp Greentop Historic District, built at the same time in Catoctin Mountain Park as Camps 1 and 2.
• List of official residences
• Presidential Townhouse, the current official guest house for former U.S. Presidents
• Rapidan Camp, the predecessor of 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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camp David.

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