People Archives - Page 7 of 13

Calvin Coolidge at Plymouth, Vermont (2)

January 23, 2016February 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

President Calvin Coolidge in the road in front of his family’s house in Plymouth, Vermont, in August 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The road in 2014:

From this spot, President Coolidge would have been looking at the Union Christian Church, which is across the street from the house that he grew up in. He is standing on Messer Hill Road, and the building beyond him and to the left is a c.1870s shed that served as the workshop for his father’s farm. On the right-hand side is the Plymouth Cheese Factory, which was opened by Coolidge’s father and four other local farmers in 1890. It was later owned by Coolidge’s son John, and today it is owned by the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation and still operates as a cheese factory.

I don’t know why Coolidge was standing in the middle of the road, but apparently neither did photographer, Leslie Jones of the Boston Herald-Traveler. His caption was “A penny for his thoughts,” although it probably would have taken more than a cent to get Silent Cal talking. Certainly, though, his thoughts could’ve been on his on, Calvin Coolidge, Jr., who had died just a month earlier of blood poisoning following an infected blister. Perhaps this was the reason for the vacation to Plymouth – an opportunity to get away from D.C. and spend time with his father, his wife, and their other son John.

Calvin Coolidge at Plymouth, Vermont (1)

January 23, 2016February 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

President Calvin Coolidge checking the temperature on the front porch at his family home in Plymouth, Vermont, in August 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

The building in 2014:

The front porch of the Coolidge Homestead doesn’t look much different from its appearance 90 years ago; it is now a museum and has been restored to its appearance during Coolidge’s presidency. Here, he is checking the thermometer; according to Leslie Jones’s caption, “It said 80 degrees in the shade.”

Plymouth, Vermont

January 23, 2016February 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The village of Plymouth, Vermont, in August, 1924. Photo courtesy of Boston Public Library, Leslie Jones Collection.

Plymouth in 2014:

The first photo was taken when President Calvin Coolidge vacationed in his hometown of Plymouth, Vermont. The first scene shows many visitors, most of whom were probably there hoping to catch a glimpse of Coolidge. After all, this was part of his image as president; that he was a humble, down-to-earth New England farmer and a friend of the common man. Certainly the setting did little to detract from this image; most of the “center” of Plymouth can be seen in this view, with the general store/post office in the foreground, the church visible behind it, and the Coolidge Homestead to the right.

All of these buildings are part of the Calvin Coolidge Homestead District, and each one has some significance to the president. He lived in the house to the right from age four until he left for high school, he and his family attended the church across the street, and he was born in the back of the post office/general store. This building was built in the 1850s, and Coolidge’s father owned it from the 1870s until 1917. During his 1924 visit, Coolidge used the upper room in the store as his “Summer White House.”

Coolidge Homestead, Plymouth, Vermont

August 2, 2023February 2, 2015 by Derek Strahan

The Coolidge Homestead in Plymouth, Vermont, probably in August 1924.Photo courtesy of Middlebury College Library.

The house in 2020:

From the exterior, this Vermont farmhouse doesn’t look like it was once the place where a president took the oath of office, but it was here at 2:47 on the morning of August 3, 1923 that Calvin Coolidge was administered the oath by his father. Throughout his political career, Coolidge frequently returned to his hometown of Plymouth, Vermont, and it was during one such visit while he was Vice President that President Warren Harding died. This particular photo was evidently taken at some point during Coolidge’s presidency, perhaps during Coolidge’s August 1924 vacation to Plymouth, which was featured in a short 1924 documentary.

Today, not much has changed in Plymouth or at the Coolidge Homestead; the building is now a museum, and it has been restored to its 1923 appearance. The house, along with the surrounding village, are a National Historic Landmark, and the area has been maintained by the state of Vermont.

President Taft at Springfield, Mass (2)

January 23, 2016January 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

Another scene of William Howard Taft at Court Square in Springfield on April 25, 1912. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

The scene in 2014:

These were taken from the same spot as the photos in this post, just facing toward the Connecticut River instead of toward Old First Church. The 1912 photo shows President Taft arriving in Springfield, with a crowd of onlookers waiting for him. The photo also shows the extension of Court Square, which once went all the way down to the Connecticut River. Today, Interstate 91 passes across here, with a parking garage underneath.

President Taft at Springfield, Mass (1)

January 23, 2016January 17, 2015 by Derek Strahan

President William Howard Taft, giving a speech on Court Square in Springfield, on April 25, 1912. Photo from Progressive Springfield, Massachusetts (1913).

The scene in 2014:

The 1912 photo was taken on the same day as the photo in this post, which shows a close-up of President Taft speaking on the platform. Here, the platform can be seen behind Old First Church on the left-hand side, and it shows the massive crowd that had assembled to see him during his 1912 presidential campaign, which would end with him earning the Republican nomination but losing to Woodrow Wilson in the November election. Today, three of the buildings from the first photo are still there: Old First Church, the Court Square Hotel, and the old Hampden County Courthouse. There are also some remnants of this part of Court Square, which once stretched from the back of Old First Church to the Connecticut River (which can be seen in this post). Today, the Hampden County Hall of Justice covers part of the land, and East Columbus Avenue passes diagonally across it.