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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Burial Sites
| If you find yourself in a certain state capitol, you can visit the graves of both Andrew Jackson and James K. Polk. Which state capitol is it?
| U.S. Presidential Burial Sites I
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Nashville, TN. Jackson is buried at his home, The Hermitage: a beautiful antebellum mansion on the east side of Nashville, not too far from Opryland. Polk and his wife are buried on the Tennessee capitol building grounds. There is a third president also buried in Tennessee, though not in Nashville. He will be featured in a future quiz!
Charlottesville, VA. Charlottesville was home to Jefferson, Madison, and Monroe, but Jefferson is the only president buried there. Charlottesville is a town of about 40,000 and is county seat of Albemarle County.
| Calvin Coolidge was the only president from Vermont and the only president buried there. In what city can you visit his grave site?
| U.S. Presidential Burial Sites I
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Plymouth Notch, VT. Calvin Coolidge was known as "Silent Cal" due to his taciturn manner. According to Wikipedia, Plymouth Notch had a population of 555 in the 2000 census, which makes it the second smallest community in which a president is buried, behind Stonewall, TX. The State of Vermont maintains the family homestead and Calvin Coolidge Museum nearby.
Cleveland, OH. The other cities were named for the presidents whose names they share. Cleveland, OH was named "Cleaveland" after the leader of the first surveying party that laid out the town. The spelling of the city's name was later changed to "Cleveland" when, in 1831, an "a" was dropped so the name could fit a newspaper's masthead. (thanks to Wikipedia for this info) It is also home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The James A. Garfield Memorial is found in the Lake View Cemetery, on the east side of Cleveland.
| You can visit the grave of William McKinley in the same city you find the Professional Football Hall of Fame. What city is that?
| U.S. Presidential Burial Sites I
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Canton, OH. Between 150,000 and 200,000 people a year visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Considerably fewer visit the grave of William McKinley, our 25th president. The McKinley Library and Museum are also found in Canton and are administered by the county historical society.
McKinley, rightly or wrongly, is best known for being the answer to the question "Theodore Roosevelt became president when which president was assassinated?"
| This president was the only president born in California and the first of two to be buried there. His grave site is in Yorba Linda as part of the Presidential Library Complex. Which president is buried there?
| U.S. Presidential Burial Sites I
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Richard Nixon. Richard Nixon is the only president to have been born in California. Nixon is the only president to have resigned the office. He was facing impeachment for a combination of abuses of power lumped together under the umbrella of "Watergate". At his request, he did not receive a state funeral at his death.
The controversies of his administration overshadow his many accomplishments including establishing the EPA, OSHA, going to China, and ending the war in Viet Nam.
Yorba Linda is found in Orange County is one of the most affluent counties in the United States.
William Howard Taft. Taft is also the only president to have served on the Supreme Court; as Chief Justice, appointed by Warren Harding. Before becoming president, he was Solicitor General of the United States; the chief advocate of the government's legal position before the Supreme Court. He also served as Governor General of the Philippines and Secretary of War. His tombstone is a simple granite column identifying him as "President of the United States" and "Chief Justice of the United States".
Washington, D.C.. Wilson is buried in the National Cathedral and, somewhat surprisingly, is the only president buried in Washington, D.C. itself. It must be that our presidents have had enough of Washington during their lives without spending eternity there.
Lyndon Johnson. Lyndon Johnson was the first of two presidents from Texas and so far the only one buried there. Stonewall,TX, according to the 2000 census has a population of 444, making it the smallest town to be the burial place of a president. It is only about 20 miles from Johnson City, TX; named for one of LBJ's ancestor cousins. The LBJ Library is found in Austin, TX.
| Dwight Eisenhower was born in Texas and retired to Pennsylvania after leaving the White House. Where are he and his wife, Mamie, buried?
| U.S. Presidential Burial Sites I
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Abilene, KS. Ike grew up in Abilene, KS and is the only president that Kansas can lay claim to. He died in 1968 and was mourned by millions of WWII veterans. The Eisenhower Boyhood Home, Museum, Library, and Memorial Chapel are all in the same complex in Abilene, KS, about 130 miles west of Kansas City, MO.
| Abraham Lincoln is buried in Springfield, IL. That is well known and there is no need to try to get tricky with a question about that. However, in 1901, his son, Robert Todd Lincoln, had the body exhumed and re-interred under several feet of concrete. Why? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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To minimize the risk of the body being stolen. Over the years, there had been several attempts to "kidnap" Lincoln's corpse with the intent of holding it for ransom. The re-internment was to minimize this from occurring. The Lincoln Tomb is found in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. The recently constructed Lincoln Library and Museum are found in downtown Springfield.
| Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin Roosevelt were distantly related. They were both from New York. Both served as governor of New York. They both are buried in New York. Where? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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TR in Oyster Bay and FDR in Hyde Park. TR was uncle to Eleanor Roosevelt (her maiden name also) and gave her away at the marriage of FDR and Eleanor (they were cousins). Homes of both presidents are run by the National Park Service and open to the public. Oyster Bay is on Long Island and Hyde Park is north of NYC on the Hudson River.
| The second president to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, VA overshadows the first to be buried there by popular memory, not necessarily by accomplishment. He was also elected to the presidency directly from the Senate. Who is he? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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John Kennedy. Taft was the first president to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery and JFK was the second. JFK's grave is marked with an "eternal flame" and is the most often-visited grave site in Arlington other than those of the Unknown Soldiers.
Herbert Hoover. Hoover was a professional engineer and served as Commerce Secretary under Harding and Coolidge. When he was elected in 1928, he had never held elective office before.
West Branch is in eastern Iowa and is home to the Herbert Hoover National Historical Site, run by the National Park Service and Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, run by the National Archives and Records Administration. The library also holds the documentary legacy of Rose Wilder Lane and her mother, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
| Grover Cleveland spent most of his life and political career in the state of New York, including serving as governor of that state. Yet he is buried where you might expect that Woodrow Wilson would have been buried, but wasn't. Where would that be? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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Princeton, NJ. Grover Cleveland is, of course, the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. Most of his political career was spent in New York, but he was born in New Jersey and returned there after leaving the White House. He is buried in the Princeton Cemetery which is operated by the Nassau Presbyterian Church.
| Franklin Pierce is buried in a city in New Hampshire that shares its name with another city in a different state that played an important role in the American Revolution. Which city would that be? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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Concord, NH. Franklin Pierce was the 14th president, in 1852, and is generally considered one of our less effective presidents. He was from New Hampshire but showed strong southern sympathies which damaged his ability to work with the northern majority. When he failed to be renominated by the Democrats in 1856, he reportedly said, "There is nothing left to do but get drunk." He died of cirrhosis of the liver in 1869 and was buried in Concord, NH.
Concord. MA is, of course, where the "shot heard 'round the world" was fired.
| In my first quiz in this series we learned that Andrew Jackson and James Polk were both buried in the same state capital city. One other president (also from this state) was buried in the same state. Who? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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Andrew Johnson. For many years, Andrew Johnson was the answer to the question "Who is the only president to be impeached?", though he no longer holds that distinction. After leaving the presidency, Johnson returned to Tennessee and was re-elected to the US Senate in 1874. He died in 1875 and is buried in Greenville, TN.
Greeneville is in eastern Tennessee and was chosen as the capitol city of the never-admitted state of Franklin.
Buffalo, NY. Fillmore died at his home in Buffalo in 1874 and is buried Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo. Soul/Rock/Funk singer Rick James, who died in 2004, is also buried in this cemetery.
In 1901, William McKinley was shot in Buffalo while attending the Pan-American Exposition.
| Ulysses Grant was born in Ohio, went to West Point, moved to Illinois, traveled extensively during the America Civil War, lived in Washington, D.C. as president, and took a world tour after leaving office. He is entombed in the largest mausoleum in North America. Where in the world is it? | U.S. Presidential Burial Sites II
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New York City. Late in life, the Grants moved to NYC. At the time of his death, he was nearly bankrupt. The outpouring of respect, admiration, and donations from veterans of the Civil War paid for his great mausoleum in New York's Riverside Park. By the latter part of the 20th Century the tomb had fallen into a state of disrepair. It was restored and rededicated in 1997.
Father and son. John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams are both buried in Quincy, MA. They were the first father and son to be elected to the presidency. (I have read that George H. W. Bush would, on occasion, jokingly refer to George W. Bush as "Quincy" in reference to this.) Quincy, MA is sometimes called "The City of Presidents" as it is the only city in the US in which two presidents were born and are buried.
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