Camp David
Sign in to saveAlso known as Naval Support Facility Thurmont, NSF Thurmont, Shangri-La, Camp Hi-Catoctin, Camp 3, USS Shangri La, WPA Camp #3, WPA Camp 3
country retreat of the President of the United States
Key facts
- Type
- Presidential country retreat
- Owner
- Department of Defense
- Operator
- US Navy
- Controlled by
- Naval District Washington
- Open to the public
- No
- Website
- Official website
- Built
- 1935 ( 1935 ) –1938
- Built by
- Works Progress Administration
- In use
- 1938–present
- Events
- Camp David Accords (1978), Camp David Summit (2000), 38th G8 summit (2012), 46th G7 summit (2020, cancelled)
- Current commander
- Commander Kimberly I. Mazur
- Occupants
- President of the United States and the First Family
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Official name
- Naval Support Facility Thurmont
- Elevation
- 564
- Official website
- www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/camp-david
- Image
- Exterior of Camp David lodge with swimming pool in foreground. - NARA - 194350.tif
Show 4 more facts
- Commons category
- Camp David
- inception
- 1935-00-00
- native label
- Camp David
- P8168
- Kudma
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Article
Camp David is a 125-acre (51-hectare) country retreat for the president of the United States. It lies in the wooded hills of Catoctin Mountain Park, in Frederick County, Maryland, near the towns of Thurmont and Emmitsburg, about 62 miles (100 kilometers) north-northwest of the national capital city, Washington, D.C. It is code-named Naval Support Facility Thurmont. Technically a military installation, it is staffed primarily by the Seabees, the Civil Engineer Corps (CEC), the United States Navy, and the United States Marine Corps. Naval construction battalions are tasked with Camp David construction and send detachments as needed.
Originally known as Hi-Catoctin, Camp David was built as a retreat for federal government agents and their families by the Works Progress Administration. Construction started in 1935 and was completed in 1938. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it to a presidential retreat and renamed it "Shangri-La", after the fictional Himalayan paradise. Camp David received its present name in 1953 from President Dwight D. Eisenhower, in honor of his father and his grandson, both named David.