Homes of our Forefathers

Since it is President's Day, we thought we would pay homage to our forefathers and their residences. Some are humble abodes and others are grand estates, but they are pieces of architecture that represent the people that have paved the way for this great country we live in and the freedoms we enjoy.

George Washington, Mt. Vernon

Now the most popular historic site in the US, George & Martha Washington called Mt. Vernon home for more than 40 years. Located along the Potomac River in Northern Virginia, this beautiful plantation, it's gardens and farms covered roughly 8,000 acres in the 18th century and is a lasting reminder of the life and legacy of the Father of Our Country.

Sources:

http://www.mountvernon.org/#fragment-4

Image Source:

http://www.dhr.virginia.gov/registers/Counties/Fairfax/029-0054_MountVernon_VLR_4th_edition.jpg

John Adams, Peacefield

Located in Quincy, Massachusetts, Peacefield was home to John Adams (2nd President) and John Quincy Adams (6th President). The oldest portion of the home was built in 1731 by a sugar-planter from Jamaica and was purchased by the Adams in 1787.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peacefield

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Old_House,_Quincy,_Massachusetts.JPG

Thomas Jefferson, Monticello

Situated on a mountaintop outside Charlottesville, VA, Monticello, a 5,000-acre plantation was the home of Thomas Jefferson. It is the only historic house in the US on the United Nation's World Heritage List.

Source: http://www.monticello.org/

Image source: http://www.virginiaisforkids.com/2008/thomas-jeffersons-monticello/

Abraham Lincoln

A place Lincoln called home for 17 years, this Greek Revival residence in Springfield, IL was the only house Lincoln ever owned. He was residing there when he was elected to the House of Representatives in 1846 and when he was elected to be the 16th President of the US in 1860.

Sources: http://www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Home_National_Historic_Site

Image Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_Home_1.jpg

Ulysses S. Grant

This brick Italianate residence, designed by William Dennison, was originally constructed in 1860 for Galena, IL's former city clerk, Alexander J. Jackson, but was purchased for Grant by a small group of local republicans. The purchase prices was $2,500.

Sources: http://www.granthome.com/

Image Source: http://www.dwhike.com/History/Galena-IL-7-8-08/20/356641386_jttCi-S-1.jpg

Theodore Roosevelt, Sagamore Hill

Located in Cove Neck, NY on Long Island, this Shingle-style, Queen Anne home was designed by New York architect Lamb & Rich for the Roosevelts and was completed in 1886. It was known as the "Summer White House" and Roosevelt died there in January 1919.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sagamore_Hill_(house)

Image Source: http://www.theodore-roosevelt.com/trsahi.html

John F. Kennedy

JFK used the main house of the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Mass. as the base of his 1960 presidential campaign. Originally constructed in 1904, Joseph Kennedy (JFK's father) purchased and remodeled it to suit his family. Two weeks ago, it was announced that the compound would be donated to charity.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kennedy_Compound

Image Source: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/08/26/home_for_a_big_family/

Gerald R. Ford

Our hometown hero resided in this humble abode with his mother from 1913-1917 after moving from Omaha, NE, where he was born Leslie Lynch King, Jr. It wasn't until his mother remarried Gerald Rudolff Ford in 1916 that they started calling him Gerald Rudolph Ford, Jr. This bungalow is on Prospect Ave on the Southeast side of Grand Rapids.

Source: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/hseries/homes.asp

Image Source: http://www.fordlibrarymuseum.gov/avproj/hseries/homes.asp

I wonder which future president is living in one of our homes right now? ☺