The National Historic Site features West Branch several buildings that would have been standing during Hoover's childhood there. The 1853 schoolhouse was moved to the site near its original location. Likewise, the Friends Meetinghouse where Hoover worshiped has been moved to the site. Jesse Hoover's blacksmith shop has been rebuilt. These four buildings are open for free touring. The gravesite overlooking the cottage can also be visited. Near the gravesite is a tallgrass prairie, designed to resemble the type of landscape that early West Branch settlers would have witnessed. The prairie was named a National Recreation Trail in 1981.