- Coolidge Homestead
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Calvin Coolidge Homestead District
The Coolidge Homestead, 1976.Location: Plymouth Notch, Vermont Built: 1872 Governing body: State NRHP Reference#: 66000794 Significant dates Added to NRHP: October 15, 1966[1] Designated NHLD: June 23, 1965[2] The Coolidge Homestead, also known as Calvin Coolidge Homestead District or President Calvin Coolidge State Historical Site, was the childhood home of the thirtieth President of the United States, Calvin Coolidge and the place where he took the presidential oath of office. Located in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Coolidge lived there from age four in 1876 to 1887, when he departed for Black River Academy for education.
History
Plymouth Notch, Vermont. Coolidge was born in the rear of the general store in the foreground and the Coolidge's still operative cheese company is in the distance in the background
Wilder BarnThe home, itself, was bought by his father, John Coolidge, who expanded the home from a simple 1 1⁄2-story farm house to its present size and appearance today.
Despite living most of his life in Northampton, Massachusetts, Coolidge often returned to the homestead to visit his family and was staying there when President Warren G. Harding, died. Coolidge was sworn in by his father in the family parlor after taking the Oath of Office for the presidency. Due to his father's refusal to modernize the house, it remains to this day in the same condition, and in some cases with the same furnishings, as it was the night Coolidge took the oath. The Inaugural Room itself is behind glass, but a visitor can stand in an alcove and see the lamp, Bible, and table that were used in the ceremony, all placed in their historic positions.
The Homestead District includes:[3]
- Visitor Center
- Coolidge Homestead
- Farmer's Museum
- Wilder House
- Wilder Horse Barn
- Old Coolidge Farmhouse/Florence Ciley General Store/Coolidge Hall
- Coolidge Farm Shop
- Plymouth Cheese Factory (cheese making museum upstairs)
- One-Room Schoolhouse
- Azro Johnson House
- Union Christian Church
- Carrie Brown Coolidge Garden (begun by the President's stepmother)
- Aldrich House
- Top of the Notch Cabins (1927 tourist accommodations)
- Brown Family Farmhouse
- Plymouth Notch Cemetery
The district was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1965.[2][3]
Today, the Coolidge Homestead is part of the Calvin Coolidge State Historical Site overseen by the state of Vermont. As far as possible the buildings have been returned to the conditions they were in when Coolidge was president. A simple video and picture display of his life is shown in the barn. The rooms in Coolidge Hall that he used as a Summer White House in 1924 have been restored and a video of contemporary newsreel film added.
It is located west and north of Vermont Route 100A in Plymouth Notch, and open daily from 9:30 A.M. to 5:00 P.M, late May to mid-October. Directly across the road from the buildings are the Coolidge family graves. Four generations of the family, including the President, are buried here. The Calvin Coolidge State Park, a developed part of the Coolidge State Forest, is also close by.[4]
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ a b "Calvin Coolidge Homestead District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=603&ResourceType=District. Retrieved 2007-11-20.
- ^ a b Polly M. Rettig and S. Sydney Bradford (July 25, 1975). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Calvin Coolidge Homestead DistrictPDF (604 KiB). National Park Service and Accompanying 10 photos, from 1974, c.1880, 1924, and undated.PDF (1.53 MiB)
- ^ Coolidge State Park
External links
- National Park Service site on the Coolidge Homestead
- President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site - official website
National Historic Landmarks in Vermont Landmark homes Calvin Coolidge Homestead District | Robert Frost Farm | George Perkins Marsh Boyhood Home | Justin Smith Morrill Homestead | Rudyard Kipling House | Emma Willard House
Landmark commercial enterprises Military landmark Government and Political action landmarks Scientific landmark Architectural landmarks Round Church, Richmond | St. Johnsbury Athenaeum
U.S. National Register of Historic Places Topics Lists by states Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • WyomingLists by territories Lists by associated states Other 
Category:National Register of Historic Places • 
Portal:National Register of Historic PlacesCoordinates: 43°32′09″N 72°43′20″W / 43.53583°N 72.72222°W
Categories:- Historic districts in Vermont
- Vermont State Historic Sites
- Presidential homes in the United States
- Vermont culture
- National Historic Landmarks in Vermont
- Organizations based in Vermont
- Houses completed in 1872
- Historic house museums in Vermont
- Museums in Windsor County, Vermont
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Vermont
- Presidential museums in Vermont
- Houses in Windsor County, Vermont
- Coolidge family
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