Lawmakers Huddle: Warm Springs commemorates 70th anniversary of polio campaign

This weekend, Meriwether County marks a significant milestone in medical history — the 70th anniversary of the nation's polio vaccination campaign.

The city of Warm Springs will honor the place former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt considered a second home during treatment for his battle with polio and where he died on April 12, 1945.

Speakers for the occasion include U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and Haven Roosevelt Luke, FDR's great-grandson.

Caption

Franklin Roosevelt in physical therapy at a Warm Springs indoor pool in 1928.

Credit: Courtesy of Roosevelt's Little White House

During the recent Georgia legislative session, Democratic state Rep. Debbie Buckner and Republican state Sen. Randy Robertson, lawmakers whose districts cover Warm Springs, presented resolutions on behalf of the Georgia Chapter of the American Pediatric Association.

"It's the anniversary of the campaign that really started out getting the polio vaccine around the United States — one of the most successful campaigns ever," Robertson said. "[The campaign] created somewhat of a blueprint for how we dealt with the last pandemic.

"What a lot of people don't understand is there's still — in certain parts of the world ... [polio's] still out there," Robertson said, adding he hopes "this anniversary will bring polio back to everybody's mind so they'll look deeper into it, and hopefully, they'll help with other medical conditions, too."

Caption

A pool at Warm Springs, Ga., lies drained most days of the year. President Franklin D. Roosevelt used the hot waters as therapy for polio.

Credit: Courtesy of Roosevelt's Little White House

Buckner said belief in the therapeutic powers of Warm Springs' waters dates back far into Georgia's history.

"The pools are prehistoric," Buckner said. "Native Americans would come there and that was considered neutral territory. And even if they were warring with each other, if they were hurting, they would go to the pools and get some relief from their pain, and it was neutral grounds. They wouldn't shoot at each other there. And there's a sense of peace that comes from being in that area."

"There was a certain mineral that went through those springs' waters alleviated some of the conditions related to polio in certain circles," Robertson said.

Buckner said the waters also proved transformative to FDR by "giving him some buoyancy, and he could actually walk in the water because he was more buoyant."

In 1932, during his run for the presidency, Roosevelt built a small house nearby called The Little White House. Having a sitting president in the community attracted resources and led to medical advancements.

Caption

The Little White House in Warm Springs, Ga.

Credit: Courtesy of Roosevelt's Little White House

"That is where a number of medical-type careers or professions were started — occupational therapy, physical therapy," Buckner said. "That's where they first did what was known as coordinated case management, where you would have a doctor that would be treating you, but he would work with the therapist and social workers and try to make it where it was a complete package to take care of the whole patient. And it started right there in little 'ole Warm Springs."

Northeast of Meriwether County, the Augusta area also played a critical part in helping people with polio in Georgia and surrounding states.

"For some people [with polio] it would affect their lungs and would cause them to have to be in what was known as an iron lung that actually helped them breathe," Buckner said. "Georgia was the Southeast distributor for iron lungs out of Augusta."

Warm Springs is a popular tourist destination because of its national historic district. In 2023, the state invested money in renovating the therapeutic pools.  

Caption

A pool once used by former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in Warm Springs, Ga., is filled twice a year on Memorial Day and Labor Day. New renovations aim to open the pool for the whole summer, not just those holidays.

Credit: Courtesy of Roosevelt's Little White House

"They have just finished a total restoration of the structure of the infrastructure of the pools themselves, and for years now, we have not been able to open the pools except Memorial Day in the spring and Labor Day in the fall," Buckner said. "And now we hope to have them open from Memorial to Labor Day and every day.

""It is such an economic driver for the little town of Warm Springs and the great county of Meriwether. There are lots of shops and little restaurants that are family-owned, small businesses with the pools being more active."