 The Eisenhowers donated their home and farm ( 230 acres ( 93 ha ) total at the time ) to the National Park Service in 1967 , with lifetime living rights for the former president . Two years later , Eisenhower died at the age of 78 . Mamie Eisenhower rejected the idea of moving to Washington to be closer to family and friends and , with Federal permission , lived on the farm until her death in 1979 , although the living area for Mamie was reduced to 14 acres ( 5 @.@ 7 ha ) . The National Park Service opened the site in 1980 . 
