Visiting President Rutherford B. Hayes' Home in Fremont, Ohio

Eric and I bought tickets to tour President Rutherford B. Hayes' home.

I was taken with the

home's architectural

simplicity.

Rutherford B. Hayes' Uncle Sardis Birchard built a summer home for the future president and his family in Spiegel Grove. After President Hayes left the White House in he and his family returned to here to live.  Additions and updates to the heating system were necessary to make the home livable year long.

Eric sits on one of the benches
on the front porch.






Meghan gave a wonderful tour of the home.  (No photos were allowed.)  Three additions were constructed to make the small summer house livable for a family of seven with an active social life.

Meghan shared family stories with us.  President Hayes' only daughter, Fannie, was indulged by her parents. This bustling family kept a chronicle of their lives in letters that provide the story of their lives in the late 19th century.

Succeeding generations of Hayes lived in this house and made modifications to suit
their needs.

Most of the rooms on the first floor have been restored to their original state with replica wallpaper and furniture that has been re-upholstered with original fabric patterns.  Paintings have been returned to where they originally hung.

President Hayes & his wife,

Lucy Webb Hayes are buried
on the grounds.

Spending time in a president's home is a very intimate experience.  The Hayes' family life and interests provide the back story to the President and First Lady's public life.  I felt the same way when we visited President Lyndon B. Johnson's Texas White House near Stonewall, Texas.