Hoover and his family believed that, by recreating the surroundings of his early life, visitors could be inspired by the experience. After Allan purchased the cottage in 1935, the Hoovers began work on developing the environment. By 1938, the cottage had been restored by the Hoover Birthplace Committee, a group founded to support Hoover's 1928 campaign stop in West Branch. Lou Henry was the "de facto" leader of the group until her death in 1944. She oversaw all of the early developments, including the relocation of the "Isis" statue and the acquisition of land around the birthplace. She also developed a retaining wall for Hoover Creek and had a footpath built over it to connect the cottage with "Isis". She installed trees, shrubs, and flowers from a Marion garden. Allan Hoover took over the project following his mother's death.