Rutherford Birchard Hayes Home

Wednesday, I took a slight detour to visit the Hayes home in Fremont, OH. It was owned by president Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-81), aka "his fraudulency". He won a highly disputed election in 1876, which included shenanigans in not only Florida, but also Louisiana and South Carolina AND one electoral vote in Oregon. He was finally declared the winner, but promised not to run for re-election, and most of his political initiatives were stymied by Congress.

Hayes was top of his class at Harvard Law School, and later fought in the Civil War. He got a very good recommendation from none other than Ulysses S. Grant himself. He was elected to the House of Representatives and later served 3 terms as Ohio governor. By all accounts he was as fair minded and honorable a man as one could reasonable hope for, considering his occupations.

The house in Fremont was originally built by the maternal uncle of Rutherford (aka Ruddy... I am not making that up!), who pretty much raised him, as his father had succumbed to the plague before the future prez was even born. The house was originally about a third of its present size, but Rutherford added quite a bit to it. In all, five generations lived here before it was turned over to the State in 1965. Next door is a large museum and library.

Sadly, pics were verboten inside the home, so you'll have to take my word for it that it was both magnificent and tastefully decorated. All pics here.

The house.


The museum next door. It suddenly struck me just now that I forgot to visit his grave, which is on the same land somewhere. Fuck, fuckety-fuck.


A young Rutherford courting his future wife, Lucy. They had a very happy marriage, and he was inconsolable when she died from a stroke in 1889. "The lights have gone out", he wrote.


Political memorabilia. Me wants. My precioussss...