James A. Garfield

 May 11, 2025

I find it interesting and sad that both presidents from this part of Ohio, were assassinated!   

Garfield's home in Mentor, Ohio, started as a two-bedroom single story home, but with 3 kids and Garfield's mother, he started expanding it.   By the time he was done, it was quite a mansion!  Garfield started the Civil War as a colonel in the Ohio volunteers, but he had to recruit his own regiment.   His oratory skills were well used to convince mothers to send their sons to the war.   
Just inside the visitor's center is Garfield taking the oath of office.   People, the oath really says the president swears to uphold and defend the Constitution!

This was a farm shed out behind the house.   Garfield rebuilt it, himself, into his campaign headquarters.   He had gotten tired of having to run every two years as a congressman, and the senate just didn't fit, so he thought he might just retire from politics.   But he went to the convention where no one could get nominated, longest convention ever, and after a few days, someone from I think, Wisconsin, gave one vote for Garfield.   He immediately jumped up and protested, but was called out of order.   The next vote, everyone voted to nominate Garfield!   That is the best kind of candidate, one who didn't aspire to the job!

After Garfield was assassinated, Mrs Garfield had a fireproof vault built in the home library where she stored all his papers, and visited them every day.   The Library of Congress really liked this idea.   Queen Victoria sent a sympathy wreath that touched Mrs Garfield so much, she had it dipped in wax, and it is still in the vault!

Garfield's mother lived in the house.   When he died, she had pictures of him all over her room so she would see him morning and night.   I really like the stained glass!

Mrs Garfield did not like the esthetic of the original windmill, so she had this one built behind the house.   500 gallon storage tank and fed running water into the house.

Moreland Hills, some miles away, is the birthplace of James Garfield.   Last president born in a log cabin.   This replica is a short distance from the original site, and now sits on the grounds of city government.

I am out of energy for the evening.    I will talk about McKinley in another post.   I have now visited five Ohio presidents.   I passed on the birthplace of Grant, it was out of position, and besides, I have been to four of his sites in three states!