JFK's Summer White House

The JFK Museum in downtown Hyannis, MA.

The museum features many items from the 1960 Presidential campaign.

Keeping with our visits to historic sites related to US Presidents, we drove over to Hyannis to the JFK Museum, which commemorates John F. Kennedy's ties to the area and the role the Kennedy compound played during his 1960 campaign and through his presidency. The museum houses more than 80 photos, mostly candid shots of JFK with family and friends, spanning his years there between 1934 and 1963. A video, narrated by Walter Cronkite, includes some rare footage of JFK during the time the Hyannis property served as his campaign headquarters and, after his election, as a popular setting for hosting visiting foreign dignitaries or for getting away from the pressures of the office. Since the Kennedy compound is not open to the public, this is a good way to learn about the ties the 35th President has to Cape Cod.