Presidential Sites (#50)

With this release, we celebrate the fiftieth issue of White House History Quarterly by debuting a new design and the new and recurring theme of Presidential Sites. With the idea that the White House is the consummate presidential site, our milestone issue number 50 is entirely devoted to articles on presidential sites, great and small. We begin issue number 50 by accompanying the energetic President Theodore Roosevelt on a roundtrip horseback ride from the White House to Warrenton, Virginia, and back. Roosevelt was determined to prove to his out of shape military subordinates that the trip could be made in one day, even in blizzard conditions. We continue by exploring one of the most interesting archeological projects in recent years, the excavation and recreation of Ferry Farm, the childhood home of George Washington near Fredericksburg, Virginia. We go to Canton, Ohio, to visit President McKinley’s family home, now the site of the First Ladies National Historic Site where the president who famously ran his campaign from a nearby front porch was a permanent guest of his wife’s kin and we follow former President Harry Truman on a road trip with his wife Bess Truman from Independence, Missouri to a diner on the main street in Frostburg, Maryland, where they stopped for lunch on the way to New York City, unaccompanied by the Secret Service. We learn the history of President James Monroe’s house on I Street in Washington, D.C. Occupied by Monroe during the first months of his presidency while the White House was rebuilt following the fire of 1814, the house has belonged to the Arts Club of Washington for a century. Noted historian Anthony Pitch concludes the issue by taking us on a tour of the houses and apartment buildings where twentieth-century presidents lived in Washington before or after serving in office.

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AWARDS:

Communicator Award for Excellence: Magazine Educational Institution

Communicator Award for Excellence: Design Features - Overall Design

American Alliance of Museums Publication Competition

Golden Ink Award