Experience: James A. Garfield National Historic Site
In 1880 James A. Garfield ran his presidential campaign from his farm located in Mentor, Ohio. People would disembark the train a mile or two north of the house and walk down through fields to hear the candidate speak from his front porch. He then went on to be elected the 20th President of the United States. Garfield is one of eight presidents that hail from our home state of Ohio. His family home, and some of the surrounding grounds, are preserved by the Department of Interior as a National Historical Site.
I took a Friday afternoon off of work recently to visit the site with some of my family, in order to learn more about Garfield, his home, and life.
The house is situated close to busy Mentor Avenue and the grounds are surrounded by suburban Cleveland homes. Despite the surroundings looking a lot different than they did in the 19th century, after parking your car it’s still possible to imagine you’re stepping back in time. The visitor center is housed in a carriage house and horse barn that was constructed in 1893, about twelve years after Garfield was assassinated. Over the years and especially the period after his death, the family home was added on, and out buildings rearranged, to create more of a country estate. His widow, Lucretia Garfield, had a large library added to the home after his death to consolidate his large book collection, and other artifacts that help us remember her husband.
Once in the visitor center, we signed up for the next house tour, and got our National Park passport stamps to commemorate our visit to this Historical Site.
There were about a dozen of us on the one o’clock tour. The Park Ranger led us down a contemporary pathway that is located basically where visitors two-hundred years ago would have used to see Mr. Garfield during his campaign for President. Approaching the house we learned that about half of the structure was added after his death, and that the Department of Interior rebuilt the (famous) front porch to its original appearance.
Once inside we got a feel for how dark (or light) it would be during the day as most rooms had only one or a few gas laterns built into the structure of the house. We noted the reproduction wallpaper, and original furnishings. We learned about the family’s daily live. During the campaign, Lucretia would great thousands of visitors each week, serving lemonade during “stand up” receptions (“stand up” in that she wouldn’t offer a chair, lest you overstay your welcome).
The original house features painted trim, and nicer wood was used on the Library and other extensions. There are two staircases, and the original kitchen was moved to the back of the house, where currently it serves as a educational display area that you access after you finish the hour long tour of the home. That educational area does a nice job of walking you through the history of the house with illustrations, models, artifacts, and plenty of copy to tell the story of the Garfield family’s time at the property (and after their time).
I liked the white model houses integrated into the corners of a timeline display to illustrate how the house was added on to. A three dimensional wood block diorama gives visitors a good feel for how the farm was laid out. An acrylic box show the original wallpaper next to a reproduction sample, so we could appreciate the attention to detail the restorers possessed.
Back in the main visitor’s center we walked through the various displays focused on Garfield’s life, time spent as a Union general in the Civil War, his successful Presidential campaign, and subsequent assassination just a few months after taking the oath of office. We picked up pins in the small gift shop, the kids finished their Junior Ranger program, and we then stepped outside to walk the grounds. There is a cell phone tour the presumably covers many of the same topics we had already explored, but we decided to forego that and just wander a bit on our own.
Overall it was a nice visit to a local Historic Site we hadn’t gotten to before. There was good insight into the house, its history, and its physical construction and decor. Much of the house is very authentic so it didn’t take much to transport ourselves mentally back to the 1880’s. Generally the exhibits in the Visitor’s Center were well laid out and informative. I found it a little difficult to follow, but ultimately I walked away with a good understanding of the times and events that shaped the man and those who lived on the property.
Some photos from my visit to the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. We visited the house, visitor center, and grounds.
Images from inside the educational display area that occupies what used to be the kitchen area of the Garfield’s house. The simple oak framed displays are pleasant. Dimensional displays for the grounds, how the house grew, and wallpaper samples are visually interesting to look at. Lighting is good. Plenty of space to tell many stories and showcase artifacts relevant to the house.
Visiting places like James A. Garfield National Historic Site are one of my favorite things to do. I love our National Parks because it is fun stepping back in time, it’s fun being curious and learning, and it is relevant to what we do as designers here at Neon Carrot. Getting out into the world visiting and learning makes us better designers. Below are some of the photos I took that day that I’d like to share with you.
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