September 29, 2008 - Indianapolis: President Benjamin Harrison's Home

I had chosen a hotel just outside Louisville since that's about two hours south of Indianapolis. Indianapolis is a large city (population of around 700,000). But I had 0one thing in mind for Indianapolis: visiting the home of the 23rd President, Benjamin Harrison. I also did not want to go all this way and leave Indiana as an unvisited state surrounded by visited states. At this point, the only Midwest state I did not visit was Iowa.

Last year, I was supposed to visit Benjamin Harrison's home. I had seen the home of his grandfather, William Henry Harrison (the 9th president) in Vincennes, IN, earlier that day. As far as I knew, Vincennes was in Central Time. When I got to Indianapolis, I did not realize I was in Eastern Time. I-70 was under massive reconstruction and miles of exits were closed. I did not have a GPS at that point. The home was off I-65. I-65 and I-70 ran together for three miles. I was in the wrong lane, missed the sign showing where they split, and ended up on I-70. With so many exits closed, I had no idea how to get back to the home. I had to get help from a gas station attendant just to get to I-74 in order to go to my next hotel.

Anyway, this year, everything went smoothly. I got to Harrison's home on time for a tour. The home is a large mansion on a double lot in the city of Indianapolis. Unlike most presidential homes, the home passed from the Harrison family directly to a foundation. The foundation was actually created by his heirs. Much of the furniture belonged to the Harrisons, though there were some period pieces.

It was a cloudy day. But on top of that, there was not much natural lighting in most of the rooms. Photographs were allowed, as long as the flash is not used. Therefore, the pictures are not so great. See the photos.

The tour focuses on how Harrison lived in the house but not much about Harrison himself. The guide explained that he was a warm, kindly, caring person. The historical record claims he was very cold and did not have much of a personality. He may have been warm and caring toward his family, but he was an unpopular president.

The Harrisons (William Henry and Benjamin) are the only case in U.S. history where a grandfaher and grandson served as president. Benjamin Harrison is also the only president to be sandwiched between two non-consecutive terms of another president. Harrison beat Grover Cleveland in the 1888 election. Harrison became the centennial president, inaugurated almost 100 years after George Washington. When the Clevelands left the White House, Mrs. Cleveland told the staff to take care of everything because they WOULD be back in four years. Her words proved to be correct as Cleveland defeated Harrison in the 1892 election. There were no term limits back then. Cleveland became unpopular in his second term and the Democrats abandoned him.

Benjamin Harrison was given a cane featuring profiles of every president, up to himself. Since Cleveland was his successor, it was technically accurate up to the president that came immediately after him. The cane is displayed in his study.

The home seemed to have quite a focus on William Henry Harrison. There were multiple paintings of him hanging on the walls. William Henry Harrison was president for only one month. He developed pneumonia and became the first president to die in office. His wife never even made it to the White House. She was in mourning because all but one of their children died before both her and the president. The only child to survive them was Benjamin Harrison's father.

The home was recently given an original invitation to the inauguration of William Henry Harrison. The home also contains the original cradles which were used for both Benjamin Harrison and his father.

The third floor serves as offices for the foundation and a display on presidential campaigns throughout history from the John Quincy Adams/Andrew Jackson election up to the 2004 Bush/Kerry election.

The barn contained Harrison's carriages and sleds. Another room in the barn contained a display on women's suffrage. See the photos.

After the tour ended, my destination was my next hotel in Carrollton, Kentucky. This was about two hours southeast of Indianapolis. I got out just before rush hour traffic (something I haven't dealt with since mid-August when I visited the West Coast).

I saw a lot of farmland and small towns along the way. Indiana is mostly flat. However, near the Indiana/Kentucky border, there are mountains on the Indiana side. Once I crossed into Kentucky, much of the driving was parallel to the Ohio River, which forms the border between Indiana and Kentucky.

Finally, I arrived in Carrollton. This was a fairly small town. I had begun to enjoy staying in new hotels. This one was okay, but it was definitely not new.