family members. Standing at the foot of the monument, one can see the birthplace cottage. Historic development R. Portland and Jennie Scellers purchased the cottage in 1889. They moved it to the rear of the property and turned it so that it faced south. They then built a two-story house and connected it to the cottage. In 1928, when Hoover was nominated as president, tourists began to come to West Branch to see the birthplace of the candidate. The widowed Jennie Scellers opened the cottage to the public. Charging ten cents a tour, she entertained over 17,000 visitors in the first year alone. Enjoying the profitability of the building, Scellers refused to sell the property to the Hoover family, but upon her death in 1934, the house was sold to Hoover's son Allan. He demolished the two-story house and turned the cottage back to its original orientation (facing east). Hoover and his family believed that, by recreating the surroundings of his early life, visitors could be inspired by the experience. After Allan purchased the cottage in 1935, the Hoovers began work on developing the environment. By 1938, the cottage had been restored by the Hoover Birthplace Committee, a group founded to support Hoover's 1928 campaign stop in West Branch. Lou Henry was the de facto leader of the group until her death in 1944. She oversaw all of the early developments, including the relocation of the Isis statue and the acquisition of land around the birthplace. She also developed a retaining wall for Hoover Creek and had a footpath built over it to connect the cottage with Isis. She installed trees, shrubs, and flowers from a Marion garden. Allan Hoover took over the project following his mother's death. The birthplace park hosted the first Hoover Day celebration of Hoover's 74th birthday in 1948. The large crowds that came to celebrate the Iowan inspired Allan Hoover to further develop the site in time for his father's 80th birthday in 1954. The Herbert Hoover Birthplace Park was officially dedicated on June 30, 1952. The following year, a comfort station and picnic shelter were constructed; these have both since been demolished. In collaboration with the Hoover celebration in 1954, the Boy Scouts of America built another picnic shelter and dedicated a bronze plaque to the former president. In 1957, the Hoover family decided to recreate the Jesse Hoover blacksmith shop, which was rebuilt