Presidential House Visit: Spiegel Grove

Spiegel Grove, Home of Rutherford B. Hayes
Fremont, Ohio

Part of the joy of this journey has been discovering the unlikely awesomeness of obscure presidents. The Rutherford B. Hayes Home is an excellent example. My knowledge of Hayes was limited and narrow, so I didn't have many expectations when I arrived at his house not too far outside Toledo. From the outside the house looks like a decent sized brick home with a side front porch.


Walking inside the house was a revelation. For one thing, it's huge; the ceilings are high, the rooms are large, and the staircase was breathtaking in both size and beauty. The house was full of beautiful woodworking  done by local craftsmen using trees felled on the property. 

Eagle doorknocker

Hayes was very involved in the building of his house, and he specifically asked for a wide front porch, because he believed a narrow porch was as useless as no porch at all (a man after my own heart). The home was primarily a space for his family, and he wanted it to be functional as well as beautiful.

Hayes certainly accomplished his mission, because his house was the most beautiful one on the tour so far. Spacious and light, grand without being remote, Spiegel Grove was a place you could imagine both raising a family and entertaining important guests. 

Wide front porch of Spiegel Grove

Perhaps most impressively, the house is still used by locals today. In the front yard, there was a group of young men playing croquet just as the Hayes's would have done, although they probably wouldn't have worn t-shirts and shorts. In the backyard, people were camped out to watch an old-fashioned baseball game on a pleasant weekend afternoon. 

The presence of regular folks enjoying their afternoon seemed to create a connection between past and present. Because you can't touch anything or stray off the carpets in historical homes, there can be a sense of disconnect between a visitor and the past generations who used the house. It speaks to Hayes's character that his home feels welcoming, personal, and functional even all these years later. I think the gentlemen playing baseball would agree. 

 

Old fashioned baseball game on the grounds

Gravesite of Rutherford B. Hayes