by We checked another presidential location off Doug’s list by visiting the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis, Indiana. Harrison was of course the 23rd president of the United States, which obviously everyone knows, and the grandson of 9th U.S. President William Henry Harrison. (We had previously visited William’s home, Grouseland, and his birthplace, Berkeley Plantation).
He was elected in 1888, and back then presidential candidates didn’t promote themselves, as it was considered unseemly. The most he did was greet the crowds of people who would assemble outside his home, and it was only considerate to offer them up a short speech and maybe some cookies and punch. This became known as the Front Porch Campaign. Ironically, the front porch we see today wasn’t added until 1896 – after he’d already served as president!
Harrison was born in Ohio and didn’t come to Indianapolis until 1854, when he was just a young man looking to launch his career as a lawyer. He must have done okay for himself, since he built the 16-room Italianate mansion in 1875 at a cost of nearly $25,000 – nearly $700,000 today! It’s 10,000 square-feet!
Harrison maintained the home for the rest of his life, though he lived for several years in Washington, D.C. while serving in office. When he moved in to the home it was with his first wife and their two children, then after he was widowed (while serving as President) and remarried, he lived there with his second wife and their daughter, estranged from his first two children as they didn’t approve of his second much younger wife!
He died at the home in 1901, and his widow and daughter continued to live there until 1913. For the next 24 years the house was rented to various families and eventually became a rooming house. Then it was sold to a school that converted the second and third floors to dormitories. By 1966, however, it was clear that real conservation was needed, and the nonprofit Benjamin Harrison Foundation was incorporated.
Ten of the 16 rooms are open on the tour, decorated in period Victorian style. About 75% of the items are originals to Harrison and his family, which is astounding given its history.
The site’s website sums up Harrison’s life thus:
Harrison was a forward thinker, a great orator, a lifelong scholar, and a truly brilliant man. Harrison addressed immigration issues and opened Ellis Island, dealt decisively with crisis and the environment, and calmed unrest overseas. He was a respected Civil War General, a man whose ethics were beyond reproach, and a Progressive who ushered in the modern presidency. The State of Indiana proudly claims him as Indiana’s only president!
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