Visits to Presidential Sites

5th President, 1817-1825 James Monroe sites visited: James Monroe was born here in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Rapids City, South Dakota, City of Presidents statue: From our stamp collection: He has a bust in the Capitol Building in Richmond, Virginia. One of three presidents who died on July 4 (John Adams & Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826), Monroe's gravesite is unique and ornate, and can be found in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia.  Monroe was originally buried in New York at the Gouverneur family's vault in New York City Marble Cemetery. Twenty-seven years later his body was reinterred in the Presidents Circle at the Holly Cemetery. "The best form of government is that which is most likely to prevent the greatest sum of evil."  

10th President 1841-1845 John Tyler sites visited: John Tyler has so many 'firsts' as president. To begin with he was the first Vice President to assume the Presidency upon the death of a President (William Henry Harrison). Congress thought he just assumed the powers of the Presidency but Tyler insisted that he had become the President. It's been the precedent ever since. This is a Vice Presidential portrait and a ribbon from his presidential campaign, in a 2023 exhibit in the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. From our stamp collection: Tyler purchased the Sherwood Forest Plantation in Charles City, Virginia, in 1842 and it has stayed in his family ever since. We visited in 2021 but found an appointment was needed for a house tour. Being on a road trip, there was no way we could do this. Maybe next time. This is the only private residence to have been owned by two unrelated U.S. Presidents. William Henry Harrison inherited the estate in 1790, sold it in 1793,...