The Hubert H. Humphrey Home at Waverly and “Waverly Mystique”

The first New Beginnings Minnesota location was established in Waverly, Minnesota. This facility was once the summer home of former Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and his wife, Muriel. Both Hubert and Muriel Humphrey had a deep, life-long concern for people who were suffering. It was Muriel’s hope that the Waverly Home would become a place that promoted healing.

A close friend, when asked how he thought Hubert Humphrey would feel if he knew his home had been turned into a chemical dependency treatment center, said: “If he thought it had become a place for people to come to seek out healing, to renew themselves, he’d think it was great. That’s what he did there.”

The Humphrey family, with roots in the rural Midwest, was looking for retreat from the stress and pace of Washington, D.C. In 1954 Hubert Humphrey, while still a senator, purchased several acres of land on the north shore of Lake Waverly. The house was built in 1955, with several additions in those upcoming years.

Initially, the house consisted of three rooms and a loft. The main living room—still intact—has a central fireplace and large picture window facing south to the lake. Bedrooms were later added to the west of the main room; these are now occupied by counseling offices. Added later was the library—also still intact—as the room that gives the closest feeling of what Humphrey’s life was like.

This is the place that Hubert Humphrey retreated to renew himself and think. And this is what New Beginnings Minnesota has become for clients: a place to seek out healing and find renewal.