Warren Harding made a little bit of history during the 1920 Presidential election. His personal campaign consisted of several speeches from his front porch. Thousands would come in to this little town in Ohio to hear the speeches, which were delivered about three times per week. Harding went on to win the election.
His home has an odd bit of history. Harding and his wife moved to the White House after he won the election, and Warren died in 1923. All of the possessions in the home were already in storage, as someone was "house-sitting" in the meantime. Therefore, a visit to the place now really is like going to the house in 1920. Yes, there's air conditioning and all that, but it's filled with original items from Harding's time.
There is a small cottage in the back. It was built for the press covering the 1920 election, and now serves as the place where tours begin and souvenirs are sold.
The organization that runs the place is collecting money for a Harding library, which they hope will be built by 2020. Good luck to them.
One little warning - the tour we received was a long one, going past the suggested 90-minute time. In fact, we had to leave early to get somewhere. Allow yourself a little extra time if you are stopping by. That nasty little Teapot Dome stuff did not come up in the tour, so you'll have to go elsewhere to learn what went wrong in the Harding Administration.
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