Are you looking for educational travel ideas? Check out these 25 Places to Celebrate Presidents in the Midwest! Take notes and plan to take your family onto the historical adventure not far from home!
While exploring the Midwest as a family, we came across many references to presidents – from President Grant home in Galena, IL to a President Roosevelt lodge in North Dakota.
FUN FACT: Of the United States’ 45 presidents, 16 of them have called the Midwest home.
Ohio has produced the most presidents with eight people. Illinois comes in second with four men who called the Illini state home. All-in-all, 10 of the 12 Midwestern states are home to presidential attractions.
From William Henry Harrison in 1841 to Barack Obama from 2009-17, the Midwest has seen some of the best presidents as well as chief executives who oversaw challenging times.
Ohio has produced the most presidents with eight people. Illinois comes in second with four men who called the Illini state home. All-in-all, 10 of the 12 Midwestern states are home to presidential attractions.
From William Henry Harrison in 1841 to Barack Obama from 2009-17, the Midwest has seen some of the best presidents as well as chief executives who oversaw challenging times.
Interested in learning more about presidents who came from the Midwest? Here’s where you can find them.
25 Places to Celebrate Presidents in the Midwest
Illinois
Abraham Lincoln
Probably the most famous president to call Illinois home, Abraham Lincoln. He served during the most challenging time in American history.
With the Civil War dominating his first term, Lincoln passed several key pieces of legislation that helped the country eventually move forward. He also freed slaves with the Emancipation Proclamation, Homestead Act, and creating the transcontinental railroad.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield traces the 16th president’s life, from his childhood in Kentucky to his eventual funeral procession from Washington, DC, to Springfield, where and his family are entombed in a family crypt at the city cemetery.
Lincoln was assassinated a few days after the end of the Civil War when the Confederate states surrendered to the Union. Re-elected in November 1864, Lincoln served a few months of his second term.
Lincoln family home
The Lincoln family home is the place where the president planned to spend his retirement. Uniquely, it is now a part of the national park service and is open for public tours. Situated in a city block reflecting life in 1860s Springfield, the national historic site provides a look into life inside the Lincoln house.
You can also take a self-guided tour of key Lincoln attractions around Springfield. Furthermore, you can visit the law office and the Old State Capitol, where he delivered the famous “Two Houses Divided” speech.
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant served as the Union army general who led the United States to victory during the Civil War.
The Grant Home
While he hailed from Ohio, where you can visit his birth site and boyhood home, the general settled in Galena, near the Mississippi River on the western edge of Illinois.
He sought and won election as the 18th president, serving two terms from 1869-77. Following his presidency, the family again settled in their Galena home. The house is open to public tours.
FUN FACT: the Grants had a gold-plated bathtub. Just like other families of their time, the Grants probably bathed once a week. Bath night was by age, beginning with parents and working through the youngest child.
The catch? They used the same water. Would you want to be the youngest Grant child on bath night?
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan may have become a Hollywood star and governor after moving to California, but he traces his roots to smalltown Dixon. Indeed, you can visit his presidential library and museum in Simi Valley, California. However, you can learn about his childhood with a visit to his boyhood home in Dixon.
Reagan Home
Built in 1891 in the Queen Anne style, the two-story house was home to the Reagan family for several years. During your visit, you’ll learn about the 40th president (1981-89) as he grew into a young adult and eventually moved on to become an actor and politician.
Abraham Lincoln also spent time in Dixon, as a soldier during the Blackhawk War. The Reagan home is open April through October.
Barack Obama
While Barack Obama was one of the youngest men to serve as president when he was elected in 2008 at the age of 47, he faced challenges immediately in having to lead the United States out of a major recession that started before his election.
The first African-American to serve as president, Obama accomplished major legislation, such as the stimulus package that helped create jobs and the Affordable Healthcare Act.
Obama Library
The Obama Presidential Center is planned for the South Side of Chicago, near the University of Chicago. Though it doesn’t have a planned opening date yet, designs reflect a futuristic look. The Obama Presidential Library is the first digital library of its kind.
Indiana
Benjamin Harrison
Benjamin Harrison served one term (1889-93) as the nation’s 23rd president. The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis provides a look into Harrison’s life and public service.
Tours take about 90 minutes and offer an excellent insight into Harrison and his life. The Harrison home also hosts special exhibits throughout the year.
Iowa
Herbert Hoover
Raised in smalltown Iowa, Herbert Hoover never really thought of himself being the president of the United States. He was a humanitarian who sought to resolve issues such as world hunger.
The West Bend native, he served as the leader of the US Food Administration and American Relief Administration. He sought the presidency in 1928. During his first year in office, the country suffered its worst economic collapse, the Great Depression.
Hoover never recovered politically and lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932. He spent his post-presidency writing and serving the country as needed, including working with President Harry S Truman concerning global hunger.
Herbert Hoover Library and Museum
An avid fisherman since childhood, Hoover enjoyed time in nature. His story is told through exhibits and memorabilia at the Herbert Hoover Library and Museum in West Bend. A small town serves as a living history museum near the presidential museum.
Kansas
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower spent much of his youth in Abilene, Kansas. The West Point graduate, he went on to become a five-star general. His greatest accomplishment was planning and managing the D-Day invasion of Normandy that eventually turned World War II to the Allies’ side.
Following his military career, Eisenhower agreed to run for president in 1952. As the 34th president, Eisenhower enjoyed several major accomplishments, including creating the American interstate system, ending racial segregation in the military, and starting the American space program.
Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum
Eisenhower and his wife Mamie (from Boone, Iowa) settled in Abilene after his presidency ended. The Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum is part of a complex that also includes his childhood home, a visitor center, and meditation chapel, where the president and first lady are interred.
Michigan
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford served his adopted state as a representative in the US House of Representatives for 25 years, including nine as the House Minority Leader.
He was the only person to serve as vice president and then president without being elected, replacing Spiro Agnew as VP after his resignation in 1973 and then taking over as president following Richard Nixon‘s resignation in August 1974.
Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
His stint as president was a short one, as he lost the 1976 presidential election to Jimmy Carter. The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum are actually located in separate cities.
The library, which offers archived material related to Ford’s public service as well as US issues, is located on the north campus of the University of Michigan (his alma mater) in Ann Arbor.
The presidential museum is located in his adopted hometown of Grand Rapids. Here, you can trace his life, from his childhood and military service, as well as his post-presidency life.
Missouri
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman made the most wrenching decision any person could make – drop a bomb sure to destroy an entire city to help end war or face an even-more drawn-out war that could result in thousands of American and allies’ lives.
He eventually approved dropping two hydrogen bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the second leading to Japan’s capitulation and the end of World War II. Truman’s decisions came just a few months after succeeding Franklin Roosevelt, who died early in his fourth term. Following the war, Truman sought to help rebuild Europe and install democratic governments through the Marshall Plan.
As the 33rd president, he also worked to improve the American economy desegregate the military (later completed by President Eisenhower). Truman declined to seek reelection in 1952 and left office while overseeing a booming economy.
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
The Independence native served as a tour guide after the Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum opened. The former president was known to take daily walks around Independence, and his route can be retraced on a self-guided tour, including the Clinton Drug Store, where he worked as a youth, and the Truman home, where the president and first lady lived following his public service.
Note: The museum is closed through July 2020 for renovation. However, the research room is open.
Looking for more educational travel ideas and ways to celebrate presidents in the Midwest? Move along with 25 Places to Celebrate Presidents in the Midwest!
Nebraska
Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens
While Gerald Ford didn’t live in Omaha long, the city embraces the 38th president and honors his public service at the Gerald R. Ford Birthsite and Gardens.
Located at the site of his childhood home, which was destroyed in a 1971 fire, the attraction highlights Ford’s career and honors first lady Betty Ford with a rose garden.
The birthsite also lists each person to serve as president, as well as each Nebraska governor.
Born Leslie King Jr., his mother moved the family to Michigan, where she later married Gerald Ford. The man adopted the boy, whose name was changed to Gerald R. Ford Jr.
North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt moved to the Medora area, in southwest North Dakota after the deaths of his wife and mother on the same day. He attributed his time in North Dakota to the decision to return east and serve the public.
After his military service during the Spanish-American War in 1898, he later served as governor of New York. He served as president for two terms, from 1901 to 1909, ascending following the assassination of President McKinley.
He was a fierce conservationist who forged the nation’s national park system. A log cabin he lived in and personal memorabilia are located at the visitors center to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora.
The state has plans to build the Theodore Roosevelt Library and Museum in Medora.
Ohio
Home to eight men who served as president, Ohio is home to several historic sites and museums. From the First Ladies National Historic Site in Canton to US Grant’s childhood homes, the state offers unique and interesting attractions to celebrate and learn about the presidents.
William McKinley
Served as the 25th president from 1897-1901, William McKinley, before having his life cut short in an assassination just six months into his second term.
William McKinley Library and Museum
The William McKinley Library and Museum in Canton follows his life and career, including the Spanish-American War in 1898, which saw the United States gain territories in Puerto Rico, Guam, and The Philippines. Later, the McKinley administration annexed Hawaii as a territory.
James A. Garfield
Want to learn about the life and public service of James A. Garfield as the nation’s 20th president? Step onto the front porch to the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio (near Cleveland).
Garfield became a compromise nominee for the Republican party in 1880, won the election after conducting campaign speeches from his front porch.
It was common for presidential candidates to stay home to campaign during the 1800s. Sadly, Garfield’s time as president was cut short when he was assassinated only months into his term.
Warren G. Harding
Warren G. Harding suffered a fatal heart attack midway through his first term as the nation’s 29th president. The Harding Home Presidential Site served as the home of Warren G. and Florence Harding for 30 years (1891-1921).
Harding Home Presidential Site
The house became a museum in 1926. The home features more than 5,000 artifacts and other items, including about 300 from the couple’s short time in the White House. Also located on the property is the Harding Memorial, which resembles a Greek temple.
While closed until July 2020 for renovations, the home will reopen along with the new Warren G. Harding Presidential Center, which will feature the president’s life and career.
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes served as the country’s 19th chief executive from 1877-81. A one-term president, his election was controversial and he secretly took the oath. He declined to seek a second term. The Civil War veteran retired to his home in Fremont. The Rutherford B. Hayes Library and Museums invite visitors to learn about the president’s life, as well as tour the Hayes’ home.
William Howard
The William Howard Taft National Historic Site seeks to share the life and times of the 27th president. Taft was the first person to serve as president (1909-13) and then as a Supreme Court justice (1921-30).
Taft lost his reelection bid in 1912 after former President Theodore Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate and split the Republican vote.
William Henry Harrison
While born in Virginia, William Henry Harrison spent much of his adult life in Ohio. Elected as the ninth president in 1841, he became ill and died of pneumonia just 31 days into his term.
William Henry Harrison’s Tomb and Grouseland
Entombed in a grave in North Bend, Ohio, a memorial built over the tomb celebrates his life. He also served as the territorial governor of the Indiana Territory from 1781 to 1812. His time in Indiana is honored at William Henry Harrison’s Grouseland mansion.
South Dakota
While the state isn’t home to its own president, it possibly has the most famous presidential monument with Mount Rushmore.
The national monument honors four American leaders – George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. Mount Rushmore attracts about 3 million visitors annually.
You’ll get a patriotic feeling as you approach the monument from along the avenue of state flags. Check out the visitors’ center for the area’s history as well as the monument’s story.
Rapid City invites you to check out the City of Presidents, a series of life-sized statues honoring each person to serve as president. The statues are located throughout the downtown area.
With so many presidents hailing from the Midwest to learn about, it seems you could spend an eternity traveling around the region to learn about each of them.
While that would be fun, most people don’t have never-ending vacation days to travel. So, instead, maybe plan a travel route that allows you to maximize your presidential tour.
