Presidential Sites Part 3: James Buchanan's Wheatland

Do you know who our only bachelor president was?

How about who was president when South Carolina seceded from the US?

I’ll give you a hint…

Yup, it was our 15th president James Buchanan and if you’re wondering why on earth I would care to share this with you, well I’ll tell you.  

Last summer when I was in Lancaster PA for a few days off with some wonderful friends we decided to swing by James Buchanan’s home and take a tour.  There is no question I am the “house tour” junkie of the group but I somehow convinced my pals to go along with me on my tour….miracle in itself since my friend’s husband is not so much of a history buff (I think he’s secretly coming around though…).

James Buchanan moved to Wheatland in 1848 so you might expect a 19th century version of a bachelor pad for our bachelor president but you’d be very wrong…there were no beer light signs or pin up girl paintings anywhere in site.  

Wheatland from the front
photo source

The back entrance of Wheatland...the tour starts from here.

Wheatland is a magnificent Federal style house on a country estate. It is presented in such a livable way you can almost imagine him welcoming his cronies in his library.  

James Buchanan wrote the story of his presidency from this desk.  All of the furnishings in this room are original
to Buchanan and the flooring is copied from documented etchings of the time 

One of the terms of Buchanan agreeing to run for president in 1856 was that Wheatland would be his campaign headquarters so he could remain on the estate he loved so much…as a result the home was well documented in newspapers of the time so the interiors today are decorated as they were in James Buchanan’s time.

Pictures of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert hang in the parlor...they were sent to Buchanan by the Queen
herself!

Since James Buchanan was never married he designated “first lady” duties to his niece Harriett…you can definitely feel her presence in the furnishing choices at Wheatland…can you imagine a President of the 19th century selecting this fabulous pink china pattern?

Wheatland changed ownership a couple of times after James Buchanan’s death but luckily it underwent no major renovations and in the 1930’s was bequeathed to the Lancaster Junior League for preservation and eventually opened to the public.  

James Buchanan's bedroom

One of the things I liked best about Wheatland was while this is a museum in the sense that today it’s open to the public and honors the life of an American President this home really is true to presenting Buchanan’s home life not his presidency.

2012 Presidential Side Trips

I have shared quite a bit of the fun places that I find in my travels but as I look back at my 2012 travel posts I find that I have been remiss in what I have not shared of my site seeing.

I confess, I am a bit of a presidential history buff…not so much wars and politics (although both are fascinating) I am more pulled in by the men themselves and the lives they lived.  The architecture & furnishings of these landmarks are so interesting and sometimes even inspirational.  So, often if I am in a city where there is a presidential historic site I will try to take some time and take a visit.

It all started a long time ago probably when I was living in near Hyde Park New York (home of FDR) and couple of years ago I decided to couple my interest with my business trips so I would actually see some of where I was travelling.

When I was in Long Beach CA for business in 2010 I knew the Reagan Library was nearby so thought it would be a great idea to stay a couple of extra days and see a bit of the west coast which included the Reagan Library.

President Reagan walking down the halls of the
White House...and me waiting for him to
catch up

President Reagan's Oval Office Desk

I ended up spending the better part of a day meandering and being reminded of some of the major historical events of our generation.  It was a wonderful day and the mountainous landscape surrounding the library made for a very peaceful serene afternoon.

View looking out from President Reagan's Library

In 2012 my sites included:

A March visit to President Lyndon Johnson’s library in Austin:

LBJ's Oval Office reconstructed

A side trip to President Johnson's ranch/Texas Whitehouse in Fredericksburg TX:

LBJ's Texas White House
photo source

An April visit to the Texas Book Depository at Dealey Plaza in Dallas:

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza

A July visit to Wheatland the home of President James Buchanan our only bachelor president:

Wheatland - James Buchanan's Study where he wrote his post-Presidential memoirs

And finally a visit to President Abraham Lincoln’s summer White House in Washington DC:

Wow, President Lincoln was a tall man...life sized statue & larger than life
sized me (ha).

I also visited President Andrew Jackson's home The Hermitage in Nashville last year (I shared this visit here):

Andrew Jackson's The Hermitage

In the next few weeks I’ll write a more detailed post for each of these visits because there is so much more to share than I can put in one summary but I did want to share some of my non-shopping travel adventures.

Linking on Savvy Southern Style, A Stroll Through Life