Visits to Presidential Sites

9th President, March 4, 1841 - April 4, 1841   William Henry Harrison sites visited: Harrison served the shortest Presidential term to date and was the first President to die in office. He also was the last President to be born before the Declaration of Independence and the first president to have his photograph taken while in office. Harrison began his life at the Berkeley Plantation in Charles City, Virginia. In 1790, Harrison inherited what later became the Sherwood Forest Plantation of his Vice President, John Tyler. Harrison never lived there and sold the property after three years. (It was purchased by John Tyler in 1842.) We found this historic sign regarding William's father, Benjamin Harrison, who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence.   Harrison lived in Vincennes, Indiana from 1804-1812. It was undergoing  restoration when we visited. A lot of information was provided even though we couldn't get inside. Here we found no tree. Tecumseh and Harrison wou...

26th President 1901-1909 Theodore Roosevelt sites visited: Here is his birthplace at 28 E. 20th Street in New York City. The original building is gone and this reproduction was built on the site. On September 7, 1900, Roosevelt addressed the City of Grand Rapids as a Vice Presidential Candidate. The speech was entitled "Free Silver, Trusts, and the Philippines." It was given from this building at 40 Pearl Street. Remarkably, there is no historic marker to be found. But the building was placed on the Register of National Historic Places in 1983. On what was probably the same trip, Roosevelt addressed a crowd in front of the Allegan County Courthouse, Allegan, Michigan, in 1900 (picture hanging in the Allegan County Museum). This photo hangs in the Big Top Candy Store in Austin, Texas. Rapid City, South Dakota, City of Presidents statue: The McKinley Birthplace Memorial in Niles, Ohio, contains a bust of Teddy. Roosevelt was sworn in as President in Buffalo, New York, where Pre...