The US Presidents, their Libraries and Museums, or important sites — have you been? ‘Who’ have you visited?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

This is not really for opinionated commentary on any given presidents. Some who we know, unfortunately, clearly are ‘target-rich environments’. Let’s keep that in other threads or in The Pit.

So…

US NARA operates the Presidential Libraries and Museums from #31 Herbert Hoover through to the current president, #47 Donald Trump, although the recent ones are not yet built.

I’ve been to 11 of the 14 of the US NARA Presidential Libraries and Museums. How about you? Are they on your list? Have you been to any? What were your impressions? Which ones did you like? Not like?

Here is my list to date. ‘Who’ have you visited?

:white_check_mark: 31 Herbert Hoover — 210 Parkside Drive, West Branch IA

:white_check_mark: 32 Franklin D. Roosevelt — 4079 Albany Post Road, Hyde Park NY

:white_check_mark: 33 Harry S. Truman — 500 W. U.S. Hwy 24, Independence MO

:white_check_mark: 34 Dwight D. Eisenhower — 500 W. U.S. Hwy 24, Independence KS

:white_check_mark: 35 John F. Kennedy — Columbia Point, Boston MA

:white_check_mark: 36 Lyndon B. Johnson — 2313 Red River Street, Austin TX

:white_check_mark: 37 Richard Nixon — 18001 Yorba Linda Boulevard, Yorba Linda CA

:hollow_red_circle: 38 Gerald Ford — 303 Pearl Street, Grand Rapids MI

:white_check_mark: 39 Jimmy Carter — 441 John Lewis Freedom Parkway, Atlanta GA

:white_check_mark: 40 Ronald Reagan — 40 Presidential Drive, Simi Valley CA

:white_check_mark: 41 George H. W. Bush — 1000 George Bush Drive West, College Station TX

:white_check_mark: 42 Bill Clinton — 1200 President Clinton Avenue, Little Rock AR

:hollow_red_circle: 43 George W. Bush — 2943 SMU Blvd., Dallas TX

:hollow_red_circle: 44 Barack Obama — ➜ https://www.obamaLibrary.gov ■

:hollow_red_circle: 45 Donald Trump —

:hollow_red_circle: 46 Joe Biden —

:hollow_red_circle: 47 Donald Trump —

Libraries and museums have been established for earlier presidents, but they are not part of the NARA presidential library system. They are operated by private foundations, historical societies, or state governments.

This list for #1-30 is unofficial and rapidly compiled. Please contribute the more relevant or related locations. Links appreciated.

For some presidents their locales were ambiguous so I provide either the Facebook page or a telephone number, but I didn’t call any of them (e.g., #2 John Adams, #6 John Quincy Adams, #27 William Howard Taft).

:white_check_mark: 1 George Washington — Mount Vernon VA

:hollow_red_circle: 2 John Adams — The Adams Presidential Center; Chairman, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps
{➜ Events Archive - Adams Presidential Center ■ }
{➜ Redirecting... ■ }

:white_check_mark: 3 Thomas Jefferson — Monticello VA

:hollow_red_circle: 4 James Madison — James Madison Museum, 129 Caroline St, Orange VA
{➜ https://www.thejamesmadisonmuseum.net ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 5 James Monroe — James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library, 908 Charles St, Fredericksburg VA
{➜ https://jamesmonroemuseum.umw.edu ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 6 John Quincy Adams — The Adams Presidential Center; Chairman, General Joseph F. Dunford, Jr., 36th Commandant of the Marine Corps
{➜ Events Archive - Adams Presidential Center ■ }
{➜ Redirecting... ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 7 Andrew Jackson — The Hermitage, Nashville TN

:hollow_red_circle: 8 Martin Van Buren — The Martin Van Buren National Historic Site, Lindenwald, 1013 Old Post Rd, Kinderhook NY
{➜ Martin Van Buren National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) ■ }
{➜ Top Things to Know (U.S. National Park Service) ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 9 William Henry Harrison — Grouseland, William Henry Harrison House, the William Henry Harrison Mansion and Museum, 3 W. Scott St, Vincennes IN
{➜ https://grouseland.org ■ }
{➜ National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL) ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 10 John Tyler — Sherwood Forest Plantation, 14501 John Tyler Memorial Hwy, Charles City VA
{➜ http://www.sherwoodforest.org ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 11 James K. Polk — James K. Polk Home & Museum, 301 West 7th St, Columbia TN; 931-505-8019
{➜ https://jameskpolk.com ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 12 Zachary Taylor — :red_question_mark:
Presidential Places: Why is there no Zachary Taylor Presidential Museum? {➜ Presidential Places: Why is there no Zachary Taylor Presidential Museum?: potus_geeks — LiveJournal ■ } According to the website Presidential Museums, there are only three historic locations associated with President Zachary Taylor, the 12th President of the United States. They are :
1. A roadside marker which marks Taylor’s birthplace at Montebello SR 33W, located between Gordonsville and Barboursville, VA
2. Springfield, Taylor’s boyhood home, located at 5608 Apache Road, Louisville, KY. It is privately owned and not open to the public.
3. Zachary Taylor National Cemetery, Taylor’s resting place. It is located at 4701 Brownsboro Road, St. Matthews, east of Louisville, KY. Located there is a marble mausoleum at the grave site.

:hollow_red_circle: 13 Millard Fillmore — Millard Fillmore Presidential Site - Aurora Historical Society, 24 Shearer Ave, East Aurora NY
{➜ Millard Fillmore Presidential Site | Aurora Historical Society ■ }
{➜ Redirecting... ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 14 Franklin Pierce — Franklin Pierce Homestead State Historic Site, 301 2nd NH Turnpike, Hillsborough NH
{➜ NH State Parks - Franklin Pierce Homestead Historic Site ■ }
{➜ Franklin Pierce Homestead - Wikipedia ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 15 James Buchanan — LancasterHistory, 230 North President Ave, Lancaster PA
{➜ https://www.lancasterhistory.org ■ }
And —
The James Buchanan Online Presidential Library
{➜ The James Buchanan Online Presidential Library - LancasterHistory ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 16 Abraham Lincoln — Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 212 N 6th St, Springfield IL
{➜ https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 17 Andrew Johnson — President Andrew Johnson Library and Archive, 67 Gilland St, Tusculum TN; 423-636-7348
{➜ President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library (2025) - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Reviews) ■ }
Located at —
Tusculum University
{➜ Tusculum University - Wikipedia ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 18 Ulysses S. Grant — Mississippi State University, Starkville MS

:hollow_red_circle: 19 Rutherford B. Hayes — The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, Spiegel Grove, Fremont OH; 419-332-2081
{➜ https://www.rbhayes.org ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 20 James A. Garfield — James A. Garfield National Historic Site, 8095 Mentor Ave, Mentor OH
{➜ https://www.nationalparks.org/explore/parks/james-a-garfield-national-historic-site ■ }
{➜ James A Garfield National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 21 Chester A. Arthur — The Chester A. Arthur Home 123 Lexington Ave, New York NY
{➜ About | Chester A. Arthur Presidential Library and Museum Blog ■ }
{➜ Presidential Libraries, Museums and Homes -- Chester Arthur ■ }
{➜ Chester A. Arthur Presidential Library and Museum | Schenectady NY ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 22 Grover Cleveland — Grover Cleveland Birthplace Historic Site, 207 Bloomfield Ave, Caldwell NJ
{➜ https://groverclevelandpresidentiallibrary.org ■ }

:white_check_mark: 23 Benjamin Harrison — Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site, 1230 North Delaware St, Indianapolis IN; ➜ https://bhpsite.org ■ :white_check_mark: Resting place, Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis IN

:hollow_red_circle: 24 Grover Cleveland — (see #22)

:hollow_red_circle: 25 William McKinley — The William McKinley Presidential Library & Museum, 800 McKinley Monument Dr NW, Canton OH
{➜ https://mckinleymuseum.org ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 26 Theodore Roosevelt — Dickinson State University, Dickinson ND; to be constructed at a site to the west of Medora ND, near Theodore Roosevelt National Park; “While we are under construction, please stop by our office in downtown Medora: 350 3rd Ave, Medora ND”
{➜ https://www.trlibrary.com ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 27 William Howard Taft — The William Howard Taft National Historic Site, 2038 Auburn Ave, Cincinnati OH; 513-684-3262
{➜ William Howard Taft National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service) ■ }
{➜ https://www.nationalparks.org/explore/parks/william-howard-taft-national-historic-site ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 28 Woodrow Wilson — The Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, 20 N Coalter St, Staunton VA; 540-885-0897
{➜ https://www.woodrowwilson.org ■ }
{➜ Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library - Wikipedia ■ }
The Manse on Gospel Hill —
{➜ The Birthplace - The Manse — Woodrow Wilson ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 29 Warren G. Harding — Warren G. Harding Presidential Library & Museum, 380 Mt. Vernon Ave, Marion OH
{➜ Harding Presidential Library – Harding Presidential Sites ■ }

:hollow_red_circle: 30 Calvin Coolidge — Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum, 20 West St, Northampton MA; 413‑587‑1014
{➜ https://forbeslibrary.org/coolidge ■ }

•

The Presidential libraries outside NARA
{➜ Presidential library system - Wikipedia ■ }

2

Somewhat interesting about #12 Zachary Taylor and #21 Chester A. Arthur — are they the Rodney Dangerfields of the presidents?

3

A funny story about #43 George W. Bush. In 2009 I had an address for his planned Presidential Library and Museum on the SMU campus. When my wife and I were in the vicinity we stopped in. We parked in the lot of what appeared to be a mostly empty corporate park. A security guard walked out to our car and before we could get out he basically said it’s not built yet, and that this location was the collection point for the items that would eventually be housed in his museum when it is built.

Boy did we feel dumb!

4

I’m still looking for the “If He’d Worn a Coat” exhibit.

5

I’ve been to a lot of these museums.

The Herbert Hoover museum was unpredictably impressive and I would recommend it if you are in the area.

6

Not really for Zachary Taylor; he was only in office for a little over a year before he died. He also was president smack in the middle of the period from 1840 to 1860, when presidential power had a notable diminishing, with much of the drive in lawmaking coming from Congressional leaders.

Chester A. Arthur did oversee the initial creation of the civil service, which is a notable accomplishment. Of course, the Chinese Exclusion Act was also passed during his term of office as well.

7

Second this point. One of the things you learn at the Hoover Library is the sad fact that Hoover was a flaming success at practically everything he ever did in life … except for being president.

8

I attended public schools in Connecticut and one of the “standard” field trips was to FDR’s house at Hyde Park and a nearby mansion owned by the Vanderbilt family. (On one of those field trips, two kids were photographed mooning the camera while standing on FDR’s tomb.) Aside from that, I have not been to any presidential libraries.

9

Yes - I was astounded at some of the things I learned at that museum.

10

I’ve only been to the LBJ museum library in Austin. I plan on visiting the George HW Bush if I ever am near Texas A&M, though.

11

I visited the Gerald Ford museum when I was in Grand Rapids about four years ago. I would have visited the Clinton museum in Little Rock when I was there, but it hadn’t opened yet.

12

Truman’s library & museum are indeed in Independence, Missouri.

However, Ike’s library & museum are not in Independence, Kansas. The Eisenhower complex is located at 200 SE 4th Street, in Abilene, Kansas.

13

I have been to the following presidential libraries/museums:

Lincoln

Hoover

Truman

LBJ

George HW Bush

George W Bush

I’ll need to make plans to get to Chicago to see the Obama one after it opens next year (finally!)

14

I was under the impression that the only people interested in visiting Presidential libraries were researchers and authors.

I have to admit I’ve never been to one, nor Presidential museums or birthplaces. The closest connection I’ve had is visiting the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.

And the Mitchell, S.D. Corn Palace.

15

Lincoln’s is the only one I’ve been to, but it’s definitely worth a visit if you’re in the area and/or interested in Lincoln.

16

Never been to a library, but I’ve visited Martin Van Buren’s historic site and FDR’s Hyde Park. I’ve also visited the grave of Chester A. Arthur, who went to the same college I did (supposedly, Jimmy Carter also took courses there while in the Navy).

17

Oops, yes! Bad typo on my list, and I know better, because I’ve been there.

Thanks for catching that!

Added — I’ve corrected it in my own personal list. Thanks again!!

18

Must say that the grave site of #23 Benjamin Harrison, at Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis IN, is very simple and modest.

He died in 1901. Things were simpler back then. Life was simpler.

19

I’ve been to Lincoln’s, Truman’s, and the George HW Bush library in College Station, Texas.

We were on the back from viewing the eclipse last year, and I convinced the family to make the stop at the Bush library. I’m sure it has a library, but was a very nicely designed museum, showing his time at Yale, the Navy, his stints at the CIA, etc. I had forgotten about his involvement with Nixon’s trip to China!

My daughter very much didn’t want to go, since she has no time for Republicans. By the end, she decided that perhaps there was a time some Republicans weren’t… (trying not to get into that debate). But the library/museum did a good job explaining his life.

I wish I would have bought a replica of Barbara Bush’s famous pearl necklace from the gift shop.

20

Yeah when I say Presidential Library, I goes I really mean the Museum.

Apologies if that caused any confusion!