Calvin Coolidge was our nation’s 30th President, serving from 1923 through 1929 during a time of great prosperity in our country. Some criticize his notion of small government and laissez-faire ideology as leading to the Great Depression which then ensued in the 1930s after he had left office. Although highly skilled at giving speeches during his Presidential campaigns and press conferences, he was known as “Silent Cal” for his dour, stiff disposition and quiet personality at social events. Some speculate that this was part of an act to give the public what they wanted. Others think that his sadness grew out of the death of his son, who died from blood poisoning after getting a blister while playing tennis at the White House.
In any case, his silent posturing makes him one of our more mysterious and interesting United States Presidents, and I was pleased to get the opportunity to visit a great number of the relevant locations to Calvin Coolidge’s life during my travels through the New England states.
Friday, July 13, 2012 – Calvin Coolidge Birthplace – John Calvin Coolidge was the only President to be born on Independence Day – July 4, 1872, to be exact. The location of his birth was in a small house attached to the Cilley General Store that his father ran. The store (still open for business), the house, and in fact most of the entire village has been preserved as it was during the days of the Coolidge’s residence. The village is now a Vermont State Historical site and a National Historical Landmark, and was visited often by the watchful eye of Calvin Coolidge’s son John Coolidge, who donated it to the state in 1956, until his death in 2000.
Sign at the entrance to the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site
The Florence Cilley General Store. Florence operated the store between 1917-1945. The President’s father John Coolidge was the storekeeper between 1868-1875, the bought out the business with his brother-in-law from 1875-1877. He sold his share of the business, but continued to own the building until 1917. The living quarters attached to the back was where Calvin Coolidge was born.
The house behind the general store, birthplace of Calvin Coolidge
The room in which Calvin Coolidge was born
Friday, July 13, 2012 – Calvin Coolidge Homestead, Site Where Coolidge Was Sworn into Office – Almost directly across the street from the birth home is the homestead built in 1872 that the Coolidges moved into in 1876, when young Calvin was four years of age. He would live there until he was fifteen, departing in 1887 for the Black River Academy in Ludlow, Vermont.
The Coolidge Homestead
Sign commemorating the homestead
Most notable in this house, was that Calvin Coolidge was visiting his family and staying in this home when news came through that President Warren G. Harding had passed away on August 2, 1923. His father John Calvin Coolidge Sr. was a notary public, and thus qualified to administer the Oath of Office to his son in the wee hours of August 3.
The elder Coolidge would never modernize the house, and thus it still stands today almost exactly as it did during this time period. The table, lamp, and Bible that were used during the oath all still sit in the living room. Unfortunately but understandably, the room is behind glass, so photos are difficult, especially since flashes are forbidden. My solution? Use a flash anyway of course. Our tour guide Mary apparently never caught on.
The President and Mrs. Coolidge actually stayed on the second floor of the house, but since there is no public access to the second floor, the original furnishings of that room were brought to this first floor room, in which the President’s father slept. So this is the President’s stuff, but it wasn’t actually his room.
The family sitting room, with the original furnishings – including table, lamp, and family Bible – where Calvin Coolidge was sworn in as President by his father on August 3, 1923 at 2:47 a.m.
Another fine inaugural Bible under my belt
Friday, July 13, 2012 – Other sites in the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District – The village that surrounds the Coolidge birthplace and homestead remains well-preserved, and the cost of admission allows you into the entire area. There is a nice video about Coolidge’s life and Presidency in the visitor’s center (but unfortunately, there was a noisy group of employees chatting away as my friend Bob and I attempted to watch it). There is also a decent museum area, which has a few genuine artifacts, but mostly informational displays.
Calvin Coolidge Museum and Educational Center at the homestead
State historic sign signifying the historic value of the entire area
Portrait of Silent Cal in the museum
Crib believed to have been used by Calvin and his sister Abbie
Shhh! This is a museum, Silent Cal.
Overview of the museum
In additions to the houses, the village contains several barns containing farming tools from the period, the Post Office, the Plymouth Cheese Company (which was founded by the President’s father and is still active), the Union Christian Church where the Coolidges attended, and the Wilder Restaurant. The latter was actually a the former home of Calvin Coolidge’s mother Victoria Josephine Moor.
The Plymouth Cheese Factory, opened in 1890 by John Coolidge. I ate some.
The Union Christian Church, erected in 1840, where Calvin Coolidge attended
The Coolidge pew is marked by the flag. Sadly, and oddly, we weren’t permitted to enter the church
Bob and I enjoy lunch in the Wilder House Restaurant. The President’s mother lived here, and it was later owned by her sister Gratia (Moor) Wilder.
Monday, July 9, 2012 – Home of Calvin Coolidge in Northampton, Massachusetts – Once Calvin Coolidge’s education was complete at Black River Academy, and then Amherst College, he moved to Northampton, Massachusetts, where he began his career as a lawyer. Shortly after his marriage to Grace Anna Goodhue, he moved into a nice, but humble house in Northampton.
He would maintain residence at this house from 1906 until 1930, right through his career as lawyer, Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Governor of Massachusetts, the 29th Vice President of the United States, and the President of the United States.
The home at 21 Massasoit Street in Northampton, MA, that President Coolidge lived from 1906-1930
The house is privately owned today, but fortunately the lady who lived there was working outside when Bob and I showed up. She was very kind and allowed us to take all of the photos that we wanted and to sit on the porch, where Coolidge himself so often sat.
The former President on the porch of this home circa 1930
The not-likely-to-ever-be-President on that same porch today
Monday, July 9, 2012 – Final Home of Calvin Coolidge in Northampton, Massachusetts – Site of his Death – The Coolidges didn’t stay in the home above for very long after he retired from the White House. He and Grace moved into a more spacious mansion known as “The Beeches” elsewhere in Northampton. Although he made it clear that he was not interested in running for President again, he kept very busy writing, boating, serving on the board of numerous foundations, and as president of the American Antiquarian Society.
Sadly, his post-Presidential life was short, and he passed away from a heart attack suddenly on the afternoon of January 5, 1933, at the age of 60. The Beeches house is also privately owned and not easily visible from the street, but Bob and I did the best that we could to get photos without trespassing.
The best I could do at The Beeches
Monday, July 9, 2012 – Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum – At the behest of Calvin’s wife Grace Coolidge, the Forbes Library in Northampton, Massachusetts, established a Calvin Coolidge Memorial Room on the second floor of the library in 1955. As unassuming as Coolidge himself, this unmanned room contains a wealth of Coolidge memorabilia and artifacts from his life. It is one of the five ‘Presidential Libraries’ to call themselves such that are not part of the official National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Presidential Libraries.
The Forbes Library, which houses the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum
Nevertheless, despite it small size and quaintness, it contains a plethora of great items, including the President’s collection of books, items from his law office, artifacts from his tenure in the Massachusetts Senate, elephant tusks that were a gift from Teddy Roosevelt, items used by the Coolidges while in the White House, signed letters and documents, Coolidge’s desk used while he was a law student, and even his inaugural top hat.
Plaque outside of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Room
The Calvin Coolidge Library or bust!
Overview of the room. Note the elephant tusks and White House candelabra on top of the glass cases.
The Coolidge book collection, and the chair that Coolidge used as President of the Massachusetts Senate
The well-known Howard Chandler Christy portraits of Calvin and Grace Coolidge which hung at the White House during his administration
Original door from Calvin Coolidge’s law office
Desk and chair the Coolidge used in his law office beginning in 1898, and continued to use in his post-Presidency years in Northampton from 1929-1933. Upon his death, it was presented to the Forbes Library by Grace Coolidge. No chairs were harmed in the execution of this photo.
File cabinet used by Calvin Coolidge in the Oval Office. Locked.
Calvin Coolidge’s inaugural top hot
Being only one room, it took Bob and I a mere half hour to browse the exhibits, but I’d highly recommend this obscure Presidential site, even it means going several hours out of the way – like it did for us!
Friday, July 13, 2012 – Grave of Calvin Coolidge – Calvin Coolidge had the most unassuming grave of any former President. Following his death in 1933, his body was moved back to his hometown and interred in the Plymouth Notch Cemetery less than a mile away from the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District. His wife Grace, who passed away in 1957, is buried at his side, and his son Calvin Jr., who died at age in 1924, and his other son John, who died in 2000, are situated on either side of their parents. The President’s parents are also nearby.
The Coolidge family’s headstones
Me and Calvin C.
With First Lady Grace Coolidge
Hanging out with the President and First Lady
Grave of Calvin’s father John and his sister Abigail
Continue to the next President…
Return to Monday 2012 in Massachusetts…
Return to Friday 2012 in Vermont… (under construction)
Thank you for this great tour! It’s a shame the Beeches is not open for public inspection but I suspect it has changed a lot since Silent Cal lived there!
John Waddell
September 24th, 2015