Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
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White Haven; Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
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| Nearest city | Grantwood Village, Missouri |
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| Coordinates | 38°33′4″N 90°21′7″W / 38.55111°N 90.35194°WCoordinates: 38°33′4″N 90°21′7″W / 38.55111°N 90.35194°W |
| Area | 9.9 acres (4.0 ha) |
| Built | 1795 |
| Built by | Long,William Lindsay |
| Website | Ulsses S. Grant National Historic Site |
| NRHP Reference # | 79003205 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 4, 1979 |
| Designated NHL | June 23, 1986 |
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site is a 9.65-acre (3.91 ha) United States National Historic Site located 10 miles (16 km) 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. Five historic structures are preserved at the site including the childhood home of Julia Dent Grant, wife of Ulysses S. Grant.
White Haven was a plantation worked by slaves at the time Grant was married to his wife in 1848 and remained so until the end of the American Civil War.
After his marriage to Julia, Grant was stationed in Michigan and New York. Julia traveled with him to these posts, returning to White Haven in 1850 for the birth of their first child, Fred, in 1850. When Ulysses was sent west in 1852, Julia was not able to go with him, being pregnant with their second child. She returned to her parents' home after stopping at Ulysses' parents' home in Ohio, where Ulysses Jr., was born. Grant's army pay was insufficient to bring his family out to the West Coast, and he tried several business ventures to supplement his income. Suffering from depression and loneliness after being separated for two years, Grant finally resigned from the army in 1854 and returned to White Haven.
Grant farmed the White Haven property for his father-in-law, working with the slaves owned by Julia's father. Two more children were born, Ellen, born on July 4, 1855, and Jesse, in February 1858. Due to a financial panic in 1857, along with bad weather that destroyed many farmer's crops, Ulysses worked for a short time in the city of St. Louis in real estate and as an engineer. In 1860, Ulysses, Julia, and their four children moved to Galena, Illinois. Ulysses worked with his brothers selling leather goods made in their father's tannery.
Many visitors to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site are surprised to learn that slaves lived and worked on the nineteenth century farm known as White Haven. During the years 1854 to 1859 Grant lived here with his wife, Julia, and their children, managing the farm for his father-in-law, Colonel Dent. At that time no one suspected that Grant would rise from obscurity to achieve the success he gained during the Civil war. However, his experience working alongside the White Haven slaves may have influenced him in his later roles as the Union general who won the war which abolished that "peculiar institution," and as President of the United States. The interpretation of slavery at White Haven is therefore an important part of the mission of this historic site.
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