A private, nonprofit corporation, the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace Foundation was chartered by the Commonwealth of Virginia on June 27, 1938. The Foundation's purpose was defined in its Charter: To purchase, preserve and maintain the property located . . . in the City of Staunton, Virginia, being the birthplace of Woodrow Wilson, together with such adjacent property as may be necessary and requisite to the purpose and needs of the said corporation, and to secure funds for that purpose and for the restoration and permanent endowment thereof; . . .to the end that the said property may be forever set apart as a National Shrine, dedicated to the aims, ideals and purposes for which Woodrow Wilson lived and died...

The drive to purchase the Manse and restore the historic house was led by a group of distinguished Virginia and national leaders, guided by Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, the former President's widow. The other leaders included Admiral Cary Grayson, Wilson's physician and close friend, leading Democratic Party figures Mrs. Cordell Hull, a Staunton native and wife of the Secretary of State, Mr. Jesse Jones, a Texas financier and Secretary of Commerce and Virginia Senators Harry F. Byrd and Carter Glass. In the 1940s the Foundation established an endowment for operations and President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the Woodrow Wilson Birthplace as a "new shrine of freedom."

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965, the Foundation recruited its first professional staff in the early 1970s. By the end of the 1970s the Foundation established and completed new plans for the restoration and interpretation of the Manse specifically to the year 1856, the date of Wilson's birth, and received accreditation from the American Association of Museums.

The 1980s witnessed the development of a broad education effort including community public programs. The endowment grew significantly during this time and plans were conceived for an improved core exhibition and access to Woodrow Wilson's adult life and public service. In the last three years of this decade, an adjacent property was acquired to protect the historic environment. A successful $1.2 million capital campaign was undertaken which renovated the corner lot property creating the Woodrow Wilson Museum.

The Woodrow Wilson Museum opened in the spring of 1990 as the nation's only facility with professionally researched and designed interpretive galleries exploring the life and public service of the 28th President. This building also houses the Woodrow Wilson Research Library and helped to launch an expanded academic series of public forums on topics related to the public issues and policies that surrounded the life and times of Woodrow Wilson. These programs continue to annually attract hundreds of adults, faculty and students from around the nation.

Today the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library strives to be the place to which both scholars and a broad spectrum of interested citizens look to understand how Wilson changed our world and how his ideals continue to do so.