Hayes Presidential Center

We continued on through Ohio, stopping at the HayesPresidential Center. This made our 15^th Presidential museum or library. They claimed to be the first Presidential Museum (later FDR’s library claimed to be the first Presidential library). If you’re like me, you don’t know much about President Rutherford B. Hayes. He served in the Union Army, was elected congressman while still serving, then in 1867 he became the governor of Ohio. In 1876, he became the Republican candidate for President and ran against Samual J Tilden, the governor of New York. The governor of New York won the popular vote and had a firm 184 electoral votes, while Hayes had 165 electoral votes and 20 votes were contested from three different states (including Florida) Congress decided to appoint a commission to determine which electors should be recognized. This commission decided in Hayes favor for all three states, three days before inauguration day (March 20^th at this time). The Democrats acquiesced in what was termed the Compromise of 1877.  Inauguration day fell on a Sunday, so the public ceremony was to be held on Monday, but given that someone might object, Hayes took the oath of office in the White House on Sunday.  The primary accomplishment of Hayes, was that he ended the reconstruction era in the South and allowed them to become active again in the Union. He even appointed a Southerner into his cabinet, the Postmaster General. 

Rutherford B Hayes Home

The museum admission included a tour of his home, large at 3100 square feet. His father built it for him. The ground floor is decorated in the style of the 1870’s with most of the original furnishings, while the upstairs is decorated with family possessions from the 1950’s, when the house was turned into a museum.