house" where Hoover was born. The site also includes historic houses on Downey and Poplar Streets that belonged to significant West Branch residents. These houses are not open to the public. Some of the historic house are used for park operations and storage, while others have been available as housing for park staff. In 2021 the NPS posted an RFEI for adaptive use of the Staples, Wright, and Hayhurst houses. In 2020, the park service embarked on a multi-year flood mitigation project for Hoover creek, a tributary of the West Branch Wapsinonoc creek which runs through the site. The project involved widening the existing creek channel, replacement of bridges, and the construction of a 10-acre retention basin in the park's tallgrass prairie. Downey Street Laban Miles was the brother-in-law of Hulda Hoover. The Miles and Hoover families became close friends, and Herbert would play with the Miles children. Laban Miles later served Rutherford B. Hayes as an Indian agent. Hoover briefly lived with the Miles family in 1882 on the Osage Nation reservation while permanent plans were being made for his rearing. A farmstead owned by the Miles family south of the residential district is also part of the park. Also on Downey Street is the Amanda Garvin House, a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture. The Charles E. Smith House was moved to the site in 1969. Smith built his house in 1903, after Hoover had already left West Branch. However, the National Park Service decided to move the house to the site because of its Queen Anne architecture. His sister was the wife of Dr. L. J. Leech, who also lived on the street. Leech lived in Miles' house after moving to West Branch in 1884. While the Miles family foreclosed on their house, Leech purchased it and lived there. He built his own house next door in 1920. Hannah Varney built her house in 1899 after her divorce from her husband. She lived there for a year before moving to Iowa City and remarried. Her daughters Cora and Clara lived in the house until 1915. The house was moved to its present site in 1967. The P. T. Smith House was the only West Branch house that Hoover distinctly remembered when visiting the town years later. The Hoover children and the Smith children often played together, particularly enjoying sledding on nearby Cook's Hill. Poplar Street Four houses