Gary Ferris - Presidential Places: A Guide to the Historic Sites of U.S. Presidents

Presidential Places John F. Blair, Publisher Winston-Salem, North Carolina Copyright 1999 by Gary Ferris
Printed in the United States of America
All Rights Reserved
Second Printing, 1999
DESIGN BY DEBRA LONG HAMPTON
PRINTED AND BOUND BY R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS The paper in this book meets the guidelines for
permanence and durability of the Committee
on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity
of the Council on Library Resources. Cover photographs, clockwise from top
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site in Hodgenville, Kentucky
Courtesy of the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
Friendship Firehouse in Alexandria, Virginia
by Brian J. McCormick, Jr.
Ulysses S. S. presidents / Gary Ferris.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-89587-176-9 (alk. paper)
1. paper)
1.

PresidentsUnited StatesHomes and hauntsGuidebooks. 2. Historic sitesUnited StatesGuidebooks. 3. United StatesGuidebooks. I.

Title.
E176.1.F49 1999
917.304dc21 9850395 To Sue,
my precious wife,
forever the love
of my life Contents It was a beautiful morning in late May a few years ago when the idea for this book first came to mind. My wife and I were living near Albany, New York, and we decided to head to Boston for the day. Our children were in Buffalo for the weekend with relatives, and Boston was only a three- or four-hour drive. We got there late in the morning. I had attended Boston University but had not been back for a number of years. Sue had been there only once or twice, many years before we met.

I pointed out the apartment building in Brookline where I had lived and said that the Kennedy birthplace was just around the corner. Since neither or us had ever visited the historic house on Beals Street, we decided to go. We were impressed immensely by it. We both remember the Kennedy presidency, even though we were young at the time. True to the stereotype, we recall where we were when we heard that Kennedy was shot. For us, the visit was special.

We immersed ourselves in the innocence of an earlier time. The basement of the house has a small visitor center, where we watched a brief video. Two or three families were there, and the children were asking their parents about Kennedy. I was moved by how John F. Kennedy, more than 30 years after his death, could still bring families together. When the video ended, a ranger told us that in honor of Kennedys birthday, cake was being served in the backyard.

What could be a better family event? When we finished our cake and went back inside, I wanted to get a National Park Service book or at least a handful of brochures about presidential sites. What a wonderful thing it would be for our family to travel to other such sites. Our children were just getting to school age, and American history would be a hot topic in our house for at least the next dozen years. That left us plenty of time to hit the history trail, I reasoned. I picked up a National Park Service passport book and was stunned to see that only 30 or 40 presidential sites were managed by the service. It seemed to me that there must be many others.

I grew up in the Northeast, where it seemed that everywhere I looked, there was a Washington Slept Here sign. Just those Washington sites, I figured, would outnumber the entire list of presidential homes maintained by the park service. A perusal through travel guides confirmed that there were indeed many, many more presidential sites, yet I could find no single source listing all of them. This still surprises me, because while compiling this book, a number of park rangers and site curators told me that they constantly talk to visitors who are trying to visit as many presidential sites as possible and who like to record their visits in journals. With this book, I hope to accomplish three things. First, I want to instill in the reader a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the presidency.

Second, I want to help families grow closer by sharing some truly meaningful time together. And finally, I want to have something special that Sue and I can share with our own children. We had two children when I started working on this book. Now, we have five. What fun we will have in the coming years! The information in this book was correct at the time it was written, but be aware that sites may change their admission prices or hours at any time. It is best to call ahead before making travel plans.

Included in this book are places of historical significance to the presidentswhere they were born, lived, went to school, went to church, were married, died, were buried, and are honored. Not included are places that honor presidents in name only, like the George Washington Bridge and the countless John F. Kennedy High Schools that dot our land. Also not generally included are statues of presidents unless they are tied to a presidential visit or some place or event of significance. Many of the presidents lived in a number of different homes for short periods or briefly attended a variety of churches and schools. I do not pretend to offer an exhaustive list of such places.

Note that some of the sites listed here are private property Please respect the privacy of the residents. Please also note that many sites are owned or operated by small local agencies. They may depend on admission revenue, gift-shop sales, or charitable contributions in order to survive. Please give generously whenever you have the opportunity to support a site, especially ones that are controlled by small nonprofit agencies. There are many who helped to make this book a reality. Among them are Trine Ackelman of the Palace Hotel in San Francisco; J.

Michael Adams, dean of Nesbitt College of Design Arts at Drexel University; Bill Arbon of Impeckible Aviaries in Johnson City, Texas; Joan Baillon of the Omaha Parks, Recreation, and Public Property Department; Peter Blankman of Union College; Denise Bollinger of the United States Air Force Museum; Dr. Paul K. Bookman of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, for his crowning encouragement; Fred Boyles of Jimmy Carter National Historic Park; Nancy Brown of Belle Grove Plantation; George Bush; Jimmy Carter; Penny Circle, chief of staff to Gerald R. Ford; Beverly Clark of Ulysses S. Grant Cottage State Historic Site; Deanna Congileo of The Carter Center; Leslie Credit for her photography; Michael C. Dannenhauer, chief of staff to George Bush; Dr.

Richard Durschlag of the Museum of the Waxhaws; Frank Donaghue of the American Red Cross in Philadelphia for his encouragement; Linda Duff of Adams National Historic Site; Rita Embry, site administrator of Harry S Truman Birthplace State Historic Site; Ian Ferris for his photography; Shawn M. Fitzpatrick of Whittier College; Gerald R. Ford; Estella Grobe of the Dixon Historical Society; Stephen Handro of the Johnson City Historical Review Board; Carol Hegeman of Eisenhower National Historic Site; K. Hinkle of Andrew Johnson National Historic Site; Dr. Lynn Hoffman for his advice on writing and publishing; Carolyn Holmes of Ashlawn-Highland; John Holtzapple of the James K. Polk Memorial Association; Terri Jones of Mordecai Historic Park; Nancy Kleinhenz of the Rutherford B.