James A. Garfield National Historic Site
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James A. Garfield National Historic Site
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Garfield's home, restored to original color, 2007
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| Location | 8095 Mentor Avenue, Mentor, Ohio |
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| Coordinates | 41°39′50.256″N 81°21′3.2652″W / 41.66396000°N 81.350907000°WCoordinates: 41°39′50.256″N 81°21′3.2652″W / 41.66396000°N 81.350907000°W |
| Area | 4.9 acres (2.0 ha) |
| Built | 1876 |
| Visitation | 15,334 (2005) |
| Website | nps |
| NRHP Reference # |
66000613 (original) 15000675 (increase) |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Boundary increase | September 29, 2015 |
| Designated NHS | December 28, 1980 |
James A. Garfield National Historic Site is a United States National Historic Site located in Mentor, Ohio. The site preserves the property associated with the 20th President of the United States, James A. Garfield, and includes the first presidential library established in the United States.
James A. Garfield acquired the home in 1876 to accommodate his large family. The home, named Lawnfield by reporters, was the site of the first successful front porch campaign in 1880. That same year, Garfield had 11 rooms added to the building to accommodate his large family. Garfield was President from March 4, 1881 until his death on September 19, 1881. Four years after his assassination, Mrs. Garfield and her family added the Memorial Library wing, setting the precedent for presidential libraries.
Garfield purchased the Mentor residence for several reasons. Until this time, he had been a resident of Hiram and represented the 19th Ohio congressional district. The Democratic Ohio Legislature had redistricted and removed the Republican Party counties of Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, and Trumbull from the district, leaving only the Democratic Party counties of Ashland, Stark and Wayne.
Garfield also wanted a place where his sons could learn about farming, as well as a permanent residence where he could spend his summers while Congress was on recess.
Lucretia Garfield lived in the house at least part of every year until her death in 1918. Her brother, Joseph Rudolph, lived there until he died in 1934. In 1936, Garfield's children donated the house and its contents to the Western Reserve Historical Society for use as a museum. On December 28, 1980, the United States Congress declared the Garfield home a National Historic Site.
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