Ulysses S. Grant Home

Infobox nrhp
name = Ulysses S. Grant Home
nrhp_type = nhl


caption =
location = Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 42
lat_minutes = 25
lat_seconds = 5
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 90
long_minutes = 25
long_seconds = 53
long_direction = W
area =
built = 1859-60< [http://www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/grant_home.htm U.S. Grant Home] , State Historic Sites, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.]
architect =William Dennison
architecture = Italianate
designated=December 19, 1960
added = October 15, 1966 [http://www.nr.nps.gov/nrloc1.htm NRIS Database] , National Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 9 February 2007.]
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
refnum = 66000322
mpsub =
governing_body = Illinois Historic Preservation Agency

The Ulysses S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois is the former home of Ulysses S. Grant, the Civil War General and later 18th President of the United States. The home was given to Grant by residents of Galena as thanks for his war service in 1865, and has been maintained as a memorial to Grant since 1904. The home was constructed in 1859 - 1860 [http://www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/grant_home.htm U.S. Grant Home] , State Historic Sites, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.] and designed by William Dennison. [http://www.granthome.com/grant_home.htm Grant Home] , Galena State Historic Sites. Retrieved 9 February 2007.] The home was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960 and added to the National Register of Historic Places upon its inception in 1966. [http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=211&ResourceType=Building Ulysses S. Grant Home] , NHL Database, National Historic Landmarks Program. Retrieved 9 February 2007.]

History

In the years leading up to the Civil War, Grant and his family lived in Galena, with Grant working at a store owned by his father and managed by his brothers. Grant and his wife Julia rented a brick home, which today is privately owned and not open to tours.Fact|date=February 2007 In 1861, Grant left Galena to fight in the Civil War.

A year prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1860 city clerk Alexander J. Jackson had the house built on Bouthillier Street. At the conclusion of the Civil War, a group of local Republicans, led by Thomas B. Hughlett, pooled their money and purchased the home for $2,500 in June 1865. Two months later this group of men presented the house to the Grant family, upon their return to Galena. Grant lived at the house until his election as President in 1868. He and his family were so fond of some of the furnishings that they took them with them to Washington. Grant continued to make occasional visits to the area, staying at his house while in town. His final visit took place in 1880.

Following Grant's death, his children donated the house to the city of Galena in 1904 on the condition that it be maintained as a memorial to Grant. The city, finding that maintaining the home was too costly, transferred ownership of the house to the state of Illinois in 1931.

In 1911 a storm damaged a portion of the Grant Home. While most of the house suffered little damage, the portion of the house containing the kitchen was seriously damaged; as a result, most of the items in the kitchen were not actually owned by the Grants while they lived in the house.Fact|date=February 2007 In 1955 an extensive renovation of the house was done, restoring the appearance to that of the house in 1868 when it appeared in "Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper".

Architecture

The house was designed in the Italianate style by William Dennison. Typical of buildings done in that style, the home featured well defined rectangular shapes, a roof with a low pitch, balustraded balconies extending out over covered porches, and projecting eaves.

Julia Dent Grant statue

A statue of First Lady Julia Dent Grant was placed on the grounds of the Grant Home and dedicated in 2006. A statue of U.S. Grant stands in Galena's Grant Park, which is visible from the grounds.Fact|date=February 2007

Historic significance

Located on Bouthillier Street, the house is owned by the state of Illinois and managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. The Grant House was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960. On October 15, 1966 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places, shortly after that program's creation. The Grant House also lies within the Galena Historic District, designated in 1969, the district has more than 1,000 contributing properties.Kriviskey, Bruce M. " [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/PDFs/200468.pdf Historic District of the City of Galena, Illinois] ", (PDF), National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form, April 11, 1969, "Illinois Historic Preservation Agency", accessed April 27, 2008.]

ee also

*Elihu Benjamin Washburne House

References

External links

* [http://www.granthome.com Galena State Historic Sites]
* [http://gis.hpa.state.il.us/hargis/Reports/Reports.aspx?RefNumVariable=200484&FormType=Short Property Information Report] : Ulysses S. Grant House, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency