Welcome back everyone!
Yesterday, we finished off Ohio with a bang! We toured the remaining presidential sites in Ohio, by visiting the cities of Marion, Cincinnati, and North Bend.
Known as the “mother-lode” of presidents, eight Commanders in Chief have claimed “The Buckeye State” as their home at some point in their lives. Today, we pay homage to three of them. Warren G. Harding, William Howard Taft, and William Henry Harrison.
Let’s get right down to it!
Harding Home/Memorial
After a two-hour drive west from Canton, we finally found Marion!
Strangely enough, while researching the town, I found that Marion happens to have the world’s largest collection of popcorn machines… i’d love to know why, but Harding is our priority!
Here it is, the Harding Home!
Warren and Florence Harding lived here for around 30 years, and it was from here that Harding conducted his famous “Front Porch Campaign”, similar to Garfield and McKinleys’, where thousands of people would literally come to his front porch to hear him speak. At one point, the sheer weight of people caved in the porch, so new flooring was built.
And this building was created specifically for members of the press to cover Harding’s campaign during the election. They would be everywhere, from writing on desks inside, to sitting on the steps of the front porch.
Sadly, as you can see here, the place is under a massive renovation for a very special project. Harding 2020!
Currently, efforts are underway to not only renovate and restore the house and grounds to better condition (and as they were seen in the 1920’s), but also to construct a new Presidential Library and Museum!
All this is a part of “Harding 2020”, set to be dedicated on the anniversary of Harding’s successful election to the White House.
Here’s a picture of what the site would look like following completion. The house is seen on the south side of the lot, with the Presidential Center on the north side.
If you would like to see how progress is going, or even donate to a great cause, feel free to check out at,
For now though, all we can do, is head onto the tomb.
Only a mile away, we came across yet another grand tomb of the “Ohio Trend”.
The final resting place of Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States, and his wife Florence.
All that the Hardings specified for funeral plans were wanting “to be buried outside.” After he died, the builders took it a bit far I see. Look at the size compared to me! Apparently, when it was built, the scandals that took place in his administration hadn’t been revealed yet.
Inside are the actual tombs, President Harding on the left, and Florence on the right.
It’s a very nice spot actually, even if it’s a bit grandiose. Still, tragic ends to presidents often result in this.
This visit actually marks the halfway point on my Presidential Gravesite List! 19 down, 19 to go!
Here’s the backside of the tomb. It’s a very well kept lawn, with a nearby lawnmower going up and down the long areas.
It might be interesting to provide some more context towards Harding.
When Harding came to Marion, he married the wealthy Florence Kling, and settled in the town. He not only helped to get the local newspaper, “The Marion Star” back into business as it’s editor, but he also succeeded in running for the Ohio State Senate, the position of Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, and as a U.S. Senator. Thought of as a friendly and avid member of the Republican Party, he soon found himself nominated, and elected to the presidency… a job that he thought he was unfit for.
He had the thickest eyebrows didn’t he? He also had the largest shoe size (14, 1/2)!
Anyways, Harding’s main problem was putting trust in the wrong people. Some inductees to his cabinet began to partake in numerous scandals of government and national resources, such as the Teapot Dome Scandal. Harding once said that, 
Disillusioned, he decided to go on a cross country, “Trip of Understanding”. He was the first president to visit Alaska, and on the way back, he suffered a heart attack, and died at his San Francisco hotel.
And then, the rumors began to pop up… the actions of some of his cabinet members, the gambling that Harding partook in, and even an extramarital affair some few years ago. Harding’s reputation had sharply degraded into that of one of the worst presidents in our history.
But many forget that Harding, for the most part, was a sad victim of the actions of corrupt people. He did many great things in his administration, including stopping the post WW1 economic recession, promoting Veterans Benefits, and appeals to Suffragettes, for which they first partook in his election in 1920.
Harding is, in my opinion, very similar to Richard Nixon. While Nixon’s actions certainly didn’t help him in Watergate, an event that overshadowed almost all of his career, many forget what he did beforehand, especially as Vice-President to Eisenhower. I think that Bill Clinton put it eloquently for Nixon at his funeral.
“To them, let us say, may the day of judging President Nixon on anything less than his entire life and career come to a close.” – Bill Clinton (1994)
And Harding, having grown from being a poor boy in Ohio, all the way to becoming 29th President, certainly says a lot.
I’ll let you think on that.
William Howard Taft National Historic Site
And so, we payed a visit to another site of Ohio, dedicated to our …largest president. Weighing at over 350 pounds, it’s William Howard Taft!
That’s the skyline of Cincinnati!
So after a two-hour drive to Cincinnati, through great downpours of rain, we arrived.
I’ve lost count of how many sites we visited are owned by the National Park Service. Quite a lot!
We were actually the only ones there, so our tour began within 3 minutes of our arrival!
While this house may seem smaller than other presidential residences we’ve seen, it still cost a lot back then… about $600,000 in today’s money. That should tell you a bit about the Taft family’s financial status.
Let’s go in!
This is the parlor room, where, as you can see, the Tafts certainly knew how to decorate!
Alphonso Taft was a very influential and prominent citizen of Cincinnati, who would later become a U.S. Attorney General and later Secretary of War under the Grant administration. Marrying Louise Taft, they had six children, the third being little William Taft.
While these items are beautiful, a number of them are period pieces. So, they didn’t belong to the Tafts, the reason being that many of the old Taft belongings were destroyed in an 1877 Fire.
The small library is where the Tafts would often spend their family time.
The family loved books! Not as much as Garfield or Lincoln per say, but they were still great perusers of literature!
This is actually little William in a dress! Why? He wasn’t potty trained yet, and dresses allowed an easier exchange of diapers. I wonder what visitors to the home would say if they examined that more closely?
This is called a “Fainting Couch”. You know how when women put on corsets, it literally moves their ribcage and body shape tighter and up? Well, when it becomes undone, the circulation and proportions return so fast, that the possibility of fainting was a hazard. Thus, to make things a little more comfortable, there is this.
A replica of Alphonso’s desk. He was a very busy man.
And now we can begin to talk about Taft!
Taft was a man dedicated to serving, even despite his wealthy upbringing. After becoming an Ohio lawyer and judge, he was appointed as the 6th Solicitor General under Benjamin Harrison, and then a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals! Judicial work was what Taft loved the most, and thus, his dream of becoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court was realized.
Imagine Taft like a jovial Santa Claus. He was very easy to approach, and always valued courtesy towards others. Thus, President McKinley made him Governor General of the Phillipines, where he helped to set up a provisional government in Manila, and helped it’s people rebuild it’s infrastructure. The chair above was one of his, engraved with the “T” of his family name.
Then serving as Secretary of War (like his father before him) under Theodore Roosevelt, Roosevelt handpicked Taft to be his presidential successor. Taft, under the urging of his wife Helen, who dearly wanted to be First Lady, decided to run, where he won against William Jennings Bryan in 1908.
Being sworn in on this bible (I’ve lost count of inaugural bibles too at this point), Taft helped to regulate monopolies and trusts even further, helped maintain a strong navy, good relations with Mexico, and also propelling the postal service as well.
Now comes my favorite part… trivia facts!
Taft was the first president to throw the first pitch at a baseball game. And once, during the seventh inning, when he got up to stretch his limbs, everyone followed suit, and that is where we got the Seventh Inning Stretch!
Taft’s cow, Pauline, would often graze on the White House Lawn.
He Taft was also the president who started using the Oval Office! Though his original version was burned down, it was he that started the idea.
Taft was still an avid golfer, even with his… girth.
And finally.. the most famous story… the bathtub.
Legend has it, that one day, Taft got stuck in the White House Bathtub. That’s actually not entirely true, but he did have a new one installed that could fit his size better, one that could fit four average sized men in it.
Taft however, found the presidency miserable. Combined with his habit of stress-eating, the duties of the President, and his wife having a stroke, his weight grew to 350 LB.
Taft ran against his former friend Theodore Roosevelt (who championed the “Bull Moose/Progressive party) and Democrat Woodrow Wilson in 1912, in a three way race for the presidency. Roosevelt pulled enough votes from Taft to split the republican vote, and thus allowing Wilson to sweep the polls, and the election. Taft finished third, relieved.
Poor guy…
Several years later however, he was appointed by Warren G. Harding to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, his dream job!
He looks a lot happier in this pic than the last one doesn’t he?
In any case, he lost about 100 pounds, and certainly found the job more enjoyable. He died a month after he resigned from the court, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery (we visited his gravesite in 2015).
While Taft is often the butt of many presidential jokes, his service to our country has proved invaluable, he is certainly one of our more underrated presidents.
I imagine that you are all thinking, “But Mark, you say that about every president!”
Well…. I do, but not just anyone can become president. All 44 men that have occupied the Oval Office certainly have some base of merit, and Taft is no exception. Hat’s off to “Big Bill”!
William Henry Harrison State Memorial
One more, I promise!
about 30 minutes west of Cincinnati, is the tiny village of North Bend, Ohio, situated literally on a “North Bend” in the Ohio River.
Not only did William Henry Harrison live here, but his grandson Benjamin Harrison was born here! There’s a bit of pride in having two presidents come from the same area. Not many towns can hold that distinction. Though people might need to be reminded who both of them were, upon hearing their names.
And as such, the Harrison Memorial/Tomb is also here.
Harrison was actually our first president to die in office. So, he is technically the one that starts “The Ohio Trend”, as you can see here.
We began the approach, but just to our dismay…
The place was closed! And under restoration! We had no idea that any of this was going on! It was very maddening indeed.
So… as a result, we couldn’t go in and see the actual crypt like usual. It’s a little disappointing, but we’re lucky to be able to even visit it!
That’s looking into the burial chamber. The actual crypt where the president and his wife are buried is on the right side of the room. I’ll provide a pic from the internet to show (sorry for the low quality).
The The grave to the left of the president’s bronze colored marker belongs to John Scott Harrison, the son of William Henry Harrison, and father to Benjamin Harrison. To this day, he is the only person in history to have been both the son AND the father of a president.
So lets see… to give you a bit on Harrison’s life, he was the last president born a British subject, who rose through the ranks to become a general in the U.S. Army, especially prominent serving in Tecumseh’s War, and the War of 1812. Naturally, being a big war hero means that you get incredible credentials, and so, he was elected to the White House as the 9th President of the United States.
Poor guy…
His inauguration speech was actually the longest in history, being two long hours. To make matters worse, it was a cold and rainy day, and Harrison spoke through the entire ordeal without a coat, hat, or any kind of protection from the elements. Within days, he became sick, and even developed pneumonia. Finally, to the shock of the nation, he died just a month after he was sworn in… A MONTH!
Not only was he our shortest serving president, but he was the only president who died from “talking too much.”
And so, a constitutional crisis occurred. Everyone debated who should be next in the line of secession, and panic ensued.
It was eventually John Tyler, Harrison’s VP, who set the precedent that the Vice-President would succeed the president should the latter be incapacitated in some fashion, or deceased.
Well… farewell William Henry Harrison… many of you consider your brief service to be trivial, but you still tried to play your part in helping to shape the politics of the nation.
You all can be certain that I will return here sometime in the future to revisit the tomb, and properly see the crypt. 🙂
Anyways, we crossed the Ohio River above and into Kentucky, where we are about to leave our hotel. Today will take us through Louisville, and finally down to Nashville in Tennessee, where many sites remain to be seen.
See you all there!
Mark's Historical Roadtrips! 