Pine Knot was the country retreat of Theodore Roosevelt and Edith Roosevelt and their children from May 1905 to May 1908, while Roosevelt was president. The Albemarle County property, which consisted of fifteen wooded acres and a simple, then unfinished, two-story dwelling, was purchased by Mrs. Roosevelt from William N. Wilmer, a family friend and owner of an adjacent farm. After making changes to the interior, Mrs. Roosevelt added one or, perhaps, both stone chimneys and the “piazza” with untrimmed cedar posts supporting the roof. At this rustic sanctuary, the president enjoyed the pleasures of nature: hiking, hunting, riding, bird-watching, and viewing the distant Blue Ridge foothills. On one visit, the family was joined by the naturalist John Burroughs. Pine Knot, little changed since Roosevelt’s last visit, is located in the Southern Albemarle Rural Historic District.