Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s home at 209 Woodland Drive in Plains, Georgia, is a modest 1961 brick ranch house—but its history is anything but modest. It was the Carters’ first and only owned home, their permanent residence for more than six decades, and the setting for Jimmy Carter’s rise from Georgia politics to the presidency. The house remains closed to visitors, while Carter Gardens and the couple’s burial site are currently open under National Park Service guidance.
A modest ranch house with an outsized history
At 209 Woodland Drive in Plains, Sumter County, Georgia, a modest brick ranch house became the setting for one of the most unusual presidential stories in American history. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter did not own a succession of grand residences. This was their first—and only—owned home, and it remained their permanent residence from 1961 through the rest of their lives.
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The house is historically important not because it resembles a presidential mansion, but because it does not. Its ordinary 1960s ranch-house form stands in sharp contrast to the extraordinary public careers associated with it: Georgia state senator, Georgia governor, president of the United States, humanitarian, and former first lady known for her advocacy in mental health and caregiving.
Today, the residence itself remains closed to the public. Visitors can access Carter Gardens, including the couple’s burial site, under current National Park Service arrangements. The house should not be described as an open museum or an available interior tour.
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Where is the Carter home?
The Carter residence is at 209 Woodland Drive, Plains, Georgia, in Sumter County. The property is part of the historic landscape associated with Jimmy Carter National Historical Park.
The house is separate from Jimmy Carter’s boyhood home and farm near Archery. That earlier property is at 402 Old Plains Highway, several miles from Plains, and is the place where Carter lived from age four until age seventeen. It tells the story of his childhood; the Woodland Drive home tells the story of his adult family life and political career.
When was the house built?
The Carters purchased approximately 2.4 acres from Homer M. Harris on April 7, 1960. Construction followed, and the house was completed in 1961.
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That information establishes the home’s basic history without supporting some of the more precise details often repeated about historic houses. Available official descriptions do not, by themselves, establish a reliable square footage, room count, construction cost, appliance list, or complete interior-design inventory. The safest description is the one supported by the National Park Service and HABS: a modest, brick, 1960s ranch-style residence.
What does the Carter house look like?
Official descriptions emphasize scale and character rather than architectural grandeur. The residence is a modest ranch-style house set within a residential landscape, not a formal presidential compound or a purpose-built museum.
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The surrounding property includes grassy areas, trees, flower beds, a split-rail fence, and a pond. Rosalynn Carter also designed a memorial garden on the grounds. Together, these features give the property the feel of a long-established home landscape rather than an institutional site.
That distinction matters. The house’s significance does not depend on elaborate architecture. Its power comes from the contrast between an approachable Georgia home and the national and international importance of the people who continued to regard it as home.
The home during Jimmy Carter’s political rise
The Woodland Drive residence witnessed the central stages of Jimmy Carter’s public life. He served as a Georgia state senator from 1963 to 1971, Georgia’s governor from 1971 to 1975, and president from 1977 to 1981.
In other words, the house was already the Carter family home before Jimmy Carter became governor, and it remained their home after he entered the White House. The property connects his public identity as a peanut farmer and Georgia politician with the later national story of his presidency.
That domestic continuity is unusual. A presidential residence is normally associated with official architecture, security, ceremony, and a change of address. The Carter story is different: the political ascent began from a small Georgia community, and the family’s long-term home remained tied to that community even as Carter’s public responsibilities expanded dramatically.
Why did the Carters remain in Plains?
Plains was not merely a backdrop to Jimmy Carter’s early career. It was the couple’s chosen hometown and the place to which they remained connected after the White House. After leaving Washington in 1981, Jimmy and Rosalynn returned to their longtime Georgia home rather than relocating to a grand post-presidential estate.
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The residence therefore represents more than a presidential connection. It reflects continuity: family life before national office, the years of public service, and retirement in the same community. The Carter Center’s accounts also identify the house as the place where Jimmy Carter died on December 29, 2024, at age 100. Rosalynn Carter died there on November 19, 2023, at age 96.
The garden and the Carters’ burial place
The grounds now carry an additional meaning as the couple’s final resting place. Rosalynn Carter’s memorial garden was designed as part of the home landscape, and the graves are situated in that garden rather than at a separate cemetery unrelated to the residence.
Rosalynn Carter was interred there on November 28, 2023. Following his funeral services, Jimmy Carter was interred beside her at the Carter Home and Garden in Plains on January 9, 2025.
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The choice reflects the couple’s attachment to Plains and to the ordinary domestic setting they shared for more than six decades. The burial garden turns a private home landscape into a public place of remembrance while preserving the connection between the people and the place they chose to call home.
Can you tour Jimmy Carter’s house?
No—not currently. The residence at 209 Woodland Drive remains closed to the public. Visitors should not expect to enter the house, view its interior, or walk freely through the entire secured property.
The National Park Service has announced plans for eventual interpretive visits to the home and property, but those plans are not the same as a current tour schedule. Until the NPS changes its visitor guidance, the house should be treated as a closed historic residence.
Can you visit Carter Gardens?
Yes, under current National Park Service information. Carter Gardens, including the burial site, opened to the public on July 14, 2025.
| Visitor detail | Current information |
|---|---|
| Location | Carter Home and Gardens, Plains, Georgia |
| Hours | Daily, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. |
| Closures | Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day |
| Accessibility | Paved accessible walkway |
| Parking | Limited passenger-vehicle parking |
| Restrooms | No public restrooms on-site |
| House access | The residence remains closed |
Operating details can change. Anyone planning a visit should check the National Park Service’s current Jimmy Carter National Historical Park visitor information before traveling, especially if accessibility, parking, holiday closures, or future house access is important to the trip.
Other Carter sites in and around Plains
A visit to the Carter residence is easiest to understand as part of a group of connected historic places:
- Carter Home, 209 Woodland Drive: the longtime family residence and the location of Carter Gardens. The gardens and burial site are open under current guidance, while the house remains closed.
- Carter Boyhood Home and Boyhood Farm: the separate property near Archery where Jimmy Carter lived from childhood through age seventeen. The house was restored to a 1937 appearance and opened to visitors in 2000.
- Plains High School Visitor Center and Museum: a National Historical Park site providing broader context about Carter’s upbringing, education, and Plains.
- Plains Depot: the former railroad depot that served as Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign headquarters and is now part of the historical park.
Do not use the boyhood farm as a substitute description for the Woodland Drive house. They are different properties with different periods of significance.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the house tells us about the Carters
The most revealing feature of the residence may be its lack of presidential spectacle. It was not constructed as a ceremonial home, and it did not become a museum simply because its owner became president. It was a family house that accumulated historical meaning over time.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchFrom a construction and architectural perspective, the property shows how a relatively restrained ranch-house design can carry significance through context. The building’s importance comes from the lives lived there, the political decisions associated with those years, the surrounding landscape, and the Carters’ decision to return and remain in Plains.
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That combination of ordinary form and extraordinary history is why the home has such a strong place in the national story. The residence does not need a monumental façade to explain Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s public lives. Its continued identity as a home is the point.
Further reading about Jimmy Carter and Georgia
Readers who want personal context beyond the official site descriptions may wish to explore An Hour Before Daylight: Memories of a Rural Boyhood, Jimmy Carter’s memoir about his rural Georgia upbringing. It complements the distinction between the Plains residence and the separate boyhood home, but it should be treated as contextual reading—not as a substitute for HABS or National Park Service documentation about the Woodland Drive property.
For a broader account of Carter’s public and private life, A Full Life: Reflections at Ninety provides another optional starting point. The Carter Center’s official bibliography and the Library of Congress’s Jimmy Carter research resources offer additional avenues for readers who want to continue beyond the house itself.
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Before you go
- Confirm current National Park Service hours before traveling.
- Plan for the fact that the house interior is not open.
- Allow for limited parking and no public restrooms at the site.
- Use the separate addresses and descriptions to distinguish the Woodland Drive residence from the Carter Boyhood Home near Archery.
- Consider visiting Plains High School and Plains Depot for political and local context.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the public tour Jimmy Carter’s house in Plains?
No. The house at 209 Woodland Drive remains closed to the public. The National Park Service is preparing for possible future interpretive visits, but no current interior tour should be assumed.
Can you visit Carter Gardens?
Yes. Carter Gardens, including Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s burial site, is currently listed as open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. Hours and access rules should be confirmed before a visit.
Is the Carter Boyhood Home the same house as the Plains residence?
No. The Carter Boyhood Home is a separate property at 402 Old Plains Highway near Archery, where Jimmy Carter lived from age four to seventeen. The longtime adult residence is at 209 Woodland Drive in Plains.
Where are Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter buried?
Rosalynn Carter was interred in the garden on November 28, 2023. Jimmy Carter was interred beside her at the Carter Home and Garden in Plains on January 9, 2025.
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Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter’s home at 209 Woodland Drive in Plains is a modest 1961 brick ranch house that became the setting for their family life, Jimmy Carter’s rise from Georgia politics to the presidency, and the couple’s final years. Carter Gardens and their burial site are currently open under National Park Service guidance, but the residence itself remains closed.
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