Camp David is the country retreat of the President of the United States. It is located in wooded hills about 100 kilometers (62 mi) north of Washington, D.C., in Catoctin Mountain Park, near Thurmont, Maryland.
It is officially known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont and 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 originally built as a camp for federal government agents and their families, by the WPA, starting in 1935, opening in 1938. In 1942, it was converted to a presidential retreat by Franklin D. Roosevelt and renamed "Shangri-La" (for the fictional Himalayan paradise). Camp David received its present name from Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and grandson, both named David. Camp David is not open to the general public. Catoctin Mountain Park does not indicate the location of Camp David on its official park maps due to privacy and security concerns.
Read more about Camp David: Presidential Use, Security Issues, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words camp and/or david:
“When the weather is bad as it was yesterday, everybody, almost everybody, feels cross and gloomy. Our thin linen tents—about like a fish seine, the deep mud, the irregular mails, the never to-be-seen paymasters, and “the rest of mankind,” are growled about in “old-soldier” style. But a fine day like today has turned out brightens and cheers us all. We people in camp are merely big children, wayward and changeable.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“What if all ponds were shallow? Would it not react on the minds of men? I am thankful that this pond was made deep and pure for a symbol. While men believe in the infinite some ponds will be thought to be bottomless.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)