The park ranger first had us watch the introductory film on Grants life before he became President |
The home is called White Haven even tho it is painted green and the green is the original color of the home. |
All of the furniture in the house was ruin while Grant and his family were in the White House due to being stored in a barn and it being burnt down. |
The Park ranger talked about the home's construction |
Looking at an old wood burning stove and oven. This was probably added after the Grants left the home |
This is one of the outside protected parts of the house with the original paint which has lead and asbestos in it. The National Park service has match the original paint. |
Just outsider the main house but attached by a porch is the office |
Here the kids looked at the ledger of the Grant's farm |
and saw Grants original handwriting. We heard lots of stories about how hard Grant work to succeed. He had many jobs some that were successful and some that were failures. |
This was the slave area the laundry room and summer kitchen...it was very sparse and bare in there |
A lecture about how tough washing clothes would have been in this period. I am very thankful for my washing machine |
Down below using an outside entrance was the winter kitchens used by the slaves. This was done to help heat the home above |
Again very sparse and you can see not well lit and even the wooden roof beams are heavily coated with black soot. We were told they are original to the house |
Also on the property was an ice house and a hen house both were painted red. |
The barn on the property has been converted into a museum celebrating the life of Grant and his family |
Grants had four children 3 boys and a daughter |
This sign was a new one for me and I will need to further investigate this |
Kids swearing in to get their first junior badge here in the states. I had forgotten about this program while we were away. |
How very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that the Grants were slave owners up to the end of the war, and that Robert E Lee had emancipated his slaves before he took up his generalship. Ironic. Just goes to show you don't have to be perfect to make a big impact, and that there is good and bad to both sides.
I couldn't see the slave items from Africa well enough to tell what they were - some looked like plant bulbs...?
How very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that the Grants were slave owners up to the end of the war, and that Robert E Lee had emancipated his slaves before he took up his generalship. Ironic. Just goes to show you don't have to be perfect to make a big impact, and that there is good and bad to both sides.
I couldn't see the slave items from Africa well enough to tell what they were - some looked like plant bulbs...?
How very interesting.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading that the Grants were slave owners up to the end of the war, and that Robert E Lee had emancipated his slaves before he took up his generalship. Ironic. Just goes to show you don't have to be perfect to make a big impact, and that there is good and bad to both sides.
I couldn't see the slave items from Africa well enough to tell what they were - some looked like plant bulbs...?
Great post!! You guys take such trips!!
ReplyDeleteWe love the Jr Ranger prog as well....our kids have numerous patches/badges form our travels....I really should display them! They're sitting in a box now. yikes.
Thanks for sharing!
I loved history so now i want to study Grant. I have always enjoyed touring homes like this. I loved touring the homes of George Washington and Andrew Jackson.
ReplyDeleteSometime, you should come to Utah and learn about the Pioneers that settled here. There is some great history. Also I think I mentioned that Missouri had some Mormon history. Governor Boggs gave an order to exterminate the Mormons. They were forced out of Missouri. Several years ago they rescended this order that had been on the books but never removed. Here is a link for a little information;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri_Executive_Order_44 I thought you might find that interesting. I think I have mentioned that my daughter lives in Peculiar Missouri. They are moving to Australia this summer so I am bummed out about that. She is the one that home schools.
Sorry, I got carried away on this one. Blessings and hugs!
Looks like a wonderful field trip - Thank you for posting this. Gentle Joy
ReplyDeleteWhat other careers did he have? I definitely do not know much about him. My father is a big civil war buff and could probably write a Grant biography of his own. Did he own slaves after his in-laws passed away?
ReplyDelete