Southern Byways

Well, another election has come and gone. If you are wondering what you are going to do with your time now, why not set out on a presidential pilgrimage of sorts. So, whether you are red, blue or purple (from election exhaustion), here a some places to get you started on your presidential travel.

Presidential Homes, Cities and Towns

In Hope, Ark., the Clinton Birthplace & Museum includes a display of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette’s front page celebrating Clinton’s 1992 inaugural and the Oval Office rug. Also of interest in the Virginia Kelly Clinton Memorial Garden that features two very special roses. Over in Fayetteville, you’ll find the Clinton House Museum, where the former president and current senator of New York lived. Some items that you can see on the tour include rare items from their life in Arkansas.

Johnson City, Texas is home to the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park. Here you can tour and view such important sites as  his boyhood home and the Johnson Settlement.

Our 39th president, Jimmy Carter calls Plains, Ga., home. In this small, rural south Georgia town, you’ll find the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site.  What’s interesting about this is the fact it doesn’t highlight just one place in his life.  Not only can you see the restored farm that he grew up on, but also other key places such as the Plains Depot, which served as his 1976 campaign headquarters.

In Nashville is The Hermitage, Andrew Jackson’s home. The home houses different exhibits that detail Jackson and the homes history. Self-guided tours, yet interactive with period-dressed guides, are available of the house as well as other places on the property.

Also located in Tennessee (Columbia) is James Polk Ancestral Home. Tours are conducted of the home, and the property has many interesting displays, including Sarah Polk’s turban.

Don’t forget that Greenville, Tenn., is home to the Andrew Jackson National Historic Site. Not only can you tour his boyhood home, but also The Homestead, where he spend his years before and after his presidency.

Located in Louisville, Ky., is Springfield, Zachary Taylor’s home. This National Historic Landmark is now a private residence and isn’t opened to the public. However, you can view Taylor’s gravesite at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery.

Born in Hodgenville, Ky., Abraham Lincoln’s family moved to Knob Creek Farm, where he lived until he was seven. Today, you can see a replica of his boyhood cabin as well as the Sinking Spring. 

Presidential State

The state of Virginia deserves its own subheading when it comes to all things presidential. Before it’s further detailed, be sure to check out their special packages and deals throughout the state highlighting presidential travel.

Now, you probably all ready know about Washington’s Mount Vernon, Jefferson’s Monticello, James Madison’s Montpelier and James Monroe’s Ash Lawn-Highland, but did you know that Woodrow Wilson was born in Stauton? At the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Birthplace and Library, you have can the opportunity to learn more about the 28th president from his professorship and appointment of president at Princeton University to his president through events and policies that have shaped America.

The presidential ties don’t end there. John Tyler, who was born in Charles City County and died in Richmond, is buried in Hollywood Cemetery. Zachary Taylor was born in Orange County.

Presidential Libraries

Little Rock, Ark., is home to the Clinton Presidential Library.

In the Lone Star State, you’ll find two: the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library in Austin, and the George H. Bush Presidential Library in College Station.

Atlanta, Ga., is home to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

Presidential Retreats

A number of presidents have head to the South to get away from stress of D.C. In FDR’s case, not only was his a getaway, but also a way to find relief from polio. Even though he wasn’t cured from the warm springs in Warm Springs, Ga., he did find it helpful. What’s interesting about Roosevelt’s Little White House is  that it was said to be here, or well, in the small town setting, that he developed many of his key initiatives here. Today, you can tour the home, see the “unfinished portrait” and other exhibits.

The Harry S. Truman Little White House in Key West, Fla., has quite an history serving as the command headquarters of the naval station through three wars. In the mid-1940s, it became Harry Truman’s winter retreat, and it didn’t stop there, a number of presidents after Truman used the home in the same way. Tours are offered that provide you a look at not only the presidential history of the house, but the naval history as well.

Rough Rider and president Teddy Roosevelt escaped to Pine Knot, Va., where he and his wife built an unassuming mountain home.

Then there is the Ranch House in Stonewall, Texas, that became known as Texas White House during LBJ’s presidency. Since it’s 14 miles from Johnson City, it’s the second part of the  Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park.

Unique Presidential Places

In Odessa, Texas, you find the Presidential Museum and Leadership Library. The exhibits take you through the timeline of the nation and the men who helped shaped it.

The George Washington Ball House in Vicksburg, Miss., is said to have been built by a distant cousin of George Washington.

When you stay at The Inn of the Patriots B & B in Grover, N.C., be sure to visit the Presidential Culinary Museum, which is open for guided tours on Saturday. You may wonder why a B & B has such a museum. Well, the developer and owner Martin (Marti) Mongiello served as the executive chef to the President  at Camp David.

The Mayhurst Inn in Orange, Va., was built by James Madison’s great-nephew.

Photo credits: (first page, top left) The Clinton Birthplace, flickr, creative commons by jordan wooley; (first page, mid right) Plains, Ga. Museum, flickr, creative commons by James Fee; (first page, bottom right) Sinking Spring (at Lincoln’s Birthplace), flickr, creative commons by liz castro

(second page, top left) Mount Vernon, flickr, creative commons by jimbowen0306; (mid right) Woodrow Wilson’s garden, flickr, creative commons by origamidon; (bottom right) FDR’s Little White House, flickr, creative commons by jsc.

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