Spiegel Grove; a President's Home

A couple weeks ago we went to visit family in South Carolina. 

After we decided to go, I told Hubs that we HAD to see a president's home. Because that's what road trips are all about. In light of this, I suggested that we visit the not-so-famous home of Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States. Not familiar with Rutherford? That's okay- most people aren't. The estate, called Spiegel Grove, is located in the quaint town of Fremont Ohio. Beside the home there is a library/museum. You can get into either the home or the museum for $7.50, or do both for $13 per person. We opted to do both. The estate is open Tuesday-Saturday 9-5, so it's pretty easy to plan into a road trip.

Unfortunately we were only allowed to take pictures in the museum and not the home, which was unfortunate because it was so cool! My favorite part of the house was the Hayes' massive library of books, complete with a secret hiding place (??). He also had a private office complete with a tub and toilet (???). The dining room walls were graced with dead birds behind glass; primitive taxidermy, perhaps. In the late 1800's (called the 'Victorian' age) it was a popular thing to show your love of nature by killing animals and displaying them in your house. Funny, nowadays nature lovers would be appalled by that! 

Rutherford with a sweet elk horn chair given to him by the mountain man. We got to see it in person!

One thing we saw in the Hayes home was a small room that Rutherford called his "Little Smithsonian". Obviously when you're the president, people give you a ton of valuable but ultimately worthless gifts. These interesting oddities he put in his little museum. I really liked this concept and hope to incorporate it into my own home someday (like the toilet in the office...not). We all have special momentos that we keep- souvenirs from trips, awards, etc., but most of them get thrown into storage where they are never seen or appreciated. I think one's own "Little Smithsonian" could be made using something as simple as a china cabinet. Why display DISHES when there are a ton of other more interesting things that you never use? 

In addition to his Little Smithsonian, I was inspired by Rutherford's large collection of books. Not the fact that he collected them, but that he actually read them! Lucy was an avid reader as well. Back in the day, one had to be wealthy to own so many books. Now, a ton of great books are available for free online. Though a lot of them are old (thus in the public domain), the information is still relevant. Some of these books are even available on audio, or free to download on your Kindle. 

First Lady Lucy's evening gown.

One of my favorite parts of the Hayes stop has always been seeing Lucy's dresses on display at the museum. It's relatively rare to see a First Lady's clothing on display at her home, unless it is something small like gloves or a hat. Plus I just love looking at ancient clothes. :)

Do you like visiting historical sites? Why or why not?