Chestnut and Eucalyptus Cabins

Chestnut Cabin in 1956

Chestnut

Chestnut cabin is located near the Hickory Lodge. According to the Camp David Tour site, the Chestnut cabin originally housed the 24-hour telephone switchboard.  The staff who operated the switchboard also lived in the cabin. The only other reference I found to Chestnut cabin was in The President is at Camp David. The book describes Chestnut during the Ford Administration as a place you could obtain cribs, strollers, and high chairs.

Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is the medical cabin / infirmary at Camp David and was built during the Carter administration.  It replaced the original camp dispensary which had to be torn down because of structural problems caused by years of moisture damage and termites.

In 1991, President Bush experienced shortness of breath while jogging at Camp David.  He was taken to Eucalyptus for an examination where it was discovered he had suffered an atrial fibrillation, which is a rapid irregular heartbeat. He was later flown to the Bethesda Naval Hospital for additional tests.  First Lady Barbara Bush describes this incident in her book Barbara Bush: A Memoir.



Sources:  New York Daily News; The President is at Camp David; Camp David Tour; Barbara Bush: A Memoir; The New York Times; U.S. Navy; Jimmy Carter Library