by Who among us would not detour to Marion, Ohio (about 45 minutes north of Columbus) to visit sites related to our 29th President, Warren G. Harding? It has his presidential library, his home, and his tomb. It’s a no-brainer to visit when three items can be checked off Doug’s list in one fell swoop.
The library is the most recent of the Presidential libraries, only opened in 2021. There’s a short film and a couple of galleries for visitors to see, with most of the space going towards a gift shop, event space, and storage for historic objects. A second phase is scheduled to add more space for administrative offices and for storage of the Harding Presidential Papers.
I personally was underwhelmed by the exhibits. There wasn’t much to them and we didn’t learn very much about Harding personally or professionally. Later we listened to Sex with Presidents: The Ins and Outs of Love and Lust in the White House by Eleanor Herman (affiliate link), and learned much more about Warren’s extramarital interests and illegitimate daughter than were alluded to in the museum.
The library is behind the Harding Home, where the Hardings lived for 30 years before they went off to Washington to be President and First Lady. The home is in the Queen Anne style and was built in 1890. The Hardings were married in the front room. Unfortunately (or should I say “ridiculously”), no pictures were allowed to be taken while inside the home.
As with the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site we recently stopped at, it was considered gauche for a Presidential candidate to campaign for himself. Instead, while others were out stumping for him across the country, Harding simply spoke twice a day from his front porch to gathered crowds. In the three months leading up to his election in 1920, more than 600,000 people came to hear what he had to say.
Harding only served two and a half years of his term before passing away in office in 1923, with Vice President Calvin Coolidge taking on the Presidency. Harding’s term was marked by a number of scandals, including Teapot Dome.
The 2,500 square foot home became a museum in 1926, not long after the death in 1924 of Mrs. Harding, so the home has almost all the original furnishings. The home and grounds recently underwent a $1.3 million restoration, taking them back to their 1920 appearance.
Just a mile from the home is the Harding Memorial, where President Harding and his wife Florence are buried. It’s a very large monument made of while marble, suggestive of a circular Greek temple. There are 46 Doric columns, each 28 feet high and 5 feet in diameter. The overall structure is 53 feet tall and 103 in diameter.
Ironically, Harding’s wishes were to be buried in a simple grave under a tree and the stars. Technically this has been accomplished by planting a tree inside and including no roof on the temple, but it does seem like a stretch that this monument meets the full spirit of Harding’s wishes.
