James Garfield NHS Was More Interesting Than Expected

Leaving Pittsburg, we only had James Garfield NHS and several counties on our list to accomplish today. Honestly, I thought it would be kind of a boring day, but getting some quest items accomplished. However, James Garfield NHS turned into a much more interesting site than I anticipated!

Garfield had bought this house/farm for his family in 1876. In 1880, he expanded the house, at around the same time he was selected as the Republican candidate for President. As people began to learn of his selection, they came to visit his home, hoping to speak to him. Garfield met them on the beautiful front porch, speaking to groups as they came. And eventually, he gave speeches from the front porch. In fact, press members would camp across the road from the home, and would report on the people who came and the speeches given. This effectively became the first "front porch" campaign by a Presidential candidate.

The Visitor Center has some interesting items, including the hat that Garfield was wearing when he was assassinated. After he was shot, Garfield did not die immediately and was bedridden in the White House for a month. He needed a change of scenery and laid on this woven wire mattress, likely during his train ride to the coast.

Garfield's widow was able to keep the house and did some significant upgrades to it after his death. The kitchen, however, is laid out as it was the night Garfield found out he was elected President and the family celebrated around the dinner table.

Mrs. Garfield created several memorial areas to her husband within the remodeled home. One of which was a huge, beautifully decorated Memorial Library with many of Garfield's book lining the walls of the room. The most interesting part of this room, however, was the secure and safe vault that she created off the back-end of the room. Here, she preserved Garfield's important letters and papers and his diaries. It was one of the first efforts in presidential archiving, effectively becoming the first National Archive.