June 4, 2021
ULYSSES S. GRANT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
7400 Grant Rd, St. Louis, Missouri 63341
“Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site is a 9.65-acre United States National Historic Site located 10 miles southwest of downtown St. Louis, Missouri, within the municipality of Grantwood Village. The site, also known as White Haven, commemorates the life, military career, and Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.” Wikipedia
I have had a fondness of Ulysses S. Grant since I was a little kid. Not because he was a president, not because he was the winning general in the Civil War, but because he and I share birthdays.
Grant never lived anywhere for very long. His longest residence was the eight years he lived in the White House as president. This home was third in length. It was the home of Grant’s wife, Julia, and was their first home together. The National Park Service has done a good job of making people aware that Grant and his father-in-law, Frederick Dent, had differing opinions on things like slavery and the possibility of Civil War.
The tour of the house is free. Our tour guide did a good job of explaining life at the time Grant have lived here.
White Haven (sorry for the unfocused picture)
White Haven
White Haven
The chicken coop on the right and the ice house on the left.
I loved this quote, found near the entrance of the visitor's center.
The barn Grant had built for raising horses. It now contains a museum.
Period dress.
The house had three kitchens, one on the main floor, one in the basement and an exterior kitchen on the right of the building shown above. The left side was the laundry.
Inside the laundry.
Some pieces of china found in an archeological dig.
The fireplace in the basement kitchen.
A carriage of the type Grant would have had at White Haven.
Part of the museum.