Community Spotlight: Ronald Reagan's Boyhood Home

Publish date: 2024-05-07

Just driving by you might this is a house like any other on Hennepin Avenue, but for a short period of time it was home to a little boy who would go on to become president of the United States.

“This is the home that Ronald Reagan always considered to be his boyhood home simply because they had the entire house and the entire yard and a very nice neighborhood. I think this is the one he had the fondest memories of,” said tour guide Earlene Wolfe. 

The Reagans rented the home for three years in the 1920s and 60 years later a group of residents bought the house to turn it into a museum.

When they were restoring the house Reagan requested they leave a tile here at the fireplace loose and when we came to visit he finally explained why.

“He reached down there for the loose tile, looked at his brother Neil and said, ‘This is where I hid my money from you,'” Wolfe said. “We often find extra pennies down there because kids want to do that too.” 

Upstairs is Reagan’s bedroom. 

“The biggest surprise to these kids is that Ronald Reagan and his brother Neil shared a bedroom,” said tour guide Barb Wasson. 

Down the hall is the guest room. 

Wasson says Reagan’s mother would invite men just released from jail to stay there until they could get back on their feet. 

“I think he learned humility from her. I think he learned kindness,” she said. 

Together, the rooms weave a personal history of Reagan’s past — one you won’t find in history books. 

But the tour guides say the guests add to it too. 

“We’re here to give people information about the Reagan’s and their home and everything, but we learn a lot from the people who come to visit,” Wasson said. “A lot of them have met Ronald Reagan and have stories about him.” 

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sMHRqqyanJOewaqx0meaqKVfo7K4v46cpqalpaO2tcWMrKeorJyetKnAjKump5mcmXqzscCgmKerXZe8urTOqJtmoJ%2BisnA%3D