James Garfield ~ November 19, 1831 - September 19, 1881

20th President 1881

We found Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, about 30 minutes northeast of Cleveland. It was quite impressive.
This small out building was his campaign office.
Garfield spoke at this site in Ionia, Michigan, in 1861.
Garfield was shot on July 2, only four months into his first term, and died on September 19. His burial site in Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, is monumental.
Before we went up into this magnificent structure, we walked through a small exhibit/museum nearby.
James Garfield is the only president, up to now, to have been an ordained clergyman. Other than being the second president assassinated, Garfield also holds the distinction of being the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected president. He was the first president to die before his fiftieth birthday. He was alive when Lincoln was assassinated, and there were twelve former or future presidents alive when Garfield was killed.

This multi-level monument holds terra cotta panels, mosaics, stained glass windows, and an outdoor balcony.
The view from the balcony.
Down below in the crypt, the coffins of James and Lucretia Garfield can be viewed.
The ashes of their daughter and son-in-law stand nearby.
The Garfields have a palatial space in which to rest in peace.
"Nobody but radicals have ever accomplished anything in a great crisis."
 

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