Having begun traveling to Warm Springs, Georgia, in 1924 — in search of a therapeutic way to deal with his paralysis from polio, FDR purchased a 2,000-acre resort in the town in 1927 to create a treatment center for himself and other polio victims. In 1932, he built a home for himself on the property and would visit often so he could swim in the nearby hot springs which brought him some relief. As World War II drew to a close, the president's health grew worse. On April 12, 1945, he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage and died in his beloved Warm Springs home.
On August 14, 2011 a fire burned two cottages on the compound, but FDR's cherished Little White House was spared.