Bad US Presidents, Good Road Trip
For Presidents Day Tour Buchanan in Pennsylvania and Harding in Ohio
Dec 4, 2008 Grace Lichtenstein
With a renewed interest in American history following Barack Obama’s election, boomer and senior travelers should enjoy a tour of houses of presidents either notorious or obscure.
James Buchanan, the president who preceded Abe Lincoln, and Warren Harding, whose administration was rocked by scandal before he died in office, are ranked at the bottom of the presidential barrel. Homes of both can be visited in the space of one day.
Sauerkraut Bachelor Pad - Wheatland in Central Pennsylvania
Buchanan, a Democrat who did nothing to halt the hostility among the southern slave-holder states toward the north, is currently number one on the list of worst presidents, although famed historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. only ranked him next to last. Buchanan, cited for his failure to deal with secession. is the only president who never married
The grounds of his Wheatland estate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania are quite grand. He came from a wealthy family, served in the House and the Senate and was James Polk’s Secretary of State. Wheatland, about a 1 1/1 hour drive west of Philadelphia and 1 ½ hour drive from Wilmington, Delaware, is open every Friday & Saturday during the winter 10 am - 4:30 pm. Contributors to its upkeep hold an annual sauerkraut festival on the Wheatland grounds in September, because that was his favorite dish.
Front Porch Campaign - Harding Home in Central Ohio
How appropriate it is to take the patriotic Interstate 76 for about 7 hours west to the Harding home in Marion County, Ohio. Schlesinger ranked Harding the worst president, while in a poll of polls done in 2007 for US News and World Report he is next to last. Harding conducted the “major portion of his 1920 Presidential campaign from the wide front porch” here, according to the National Park Service.
His shortened term was marred by, among other corruption, the Teapot Dome scandal, which involved oil. His home is closed during the winter, but is open in April and May on weekends, and for a longer time during the summer.
It can be a good lesson to tour the places where obscure presidents originated. Otherwise, what would take tourists to East Aurora, New York, 21 miles east of Buffalo? That’s where the Millard Fillmore House is located.
Millard the Obscure - Fillmore Home near Buffalo, New York
Fillmore was actually born in a log cabin, but in 1826, he built part of this place and lived in it for 4 years. “Although his occupancy was brief, the history of the structure is obscure, and it has been relocated and extensively altered, this was the first home he owned and is the only extant one significantly associated with him except for the White House,” says the Park Service. (Vice President Fillmore ascended to the presidency in 1850 when President Zachary Taylor died.) It is open to the public June through October, on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m.
James Buchanan
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Warren G. Harding
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