Grant’s Birthplace, Point Pleasant OH

The immense community pride that the small town of Point Pleasant, Ohio has for Ulysses S. Grant is very evident in the way they continue to honor their native son. While he was born here, the Grant Family lived here only a short time before moving to Georgetown, Ohio; nevertheless he is the main attraction is this charming town. Ulysses grew up in a family of tanners, and but for a favor to a friend of his fathers, he would not have become a West Point cadet and ultimately a three-star general, a rank previously held only by George Washington. His humble beginnings are very evident in this one room house.
The house shown above became a tourist attraction in Point Pleasant a short time after Grant’s death, but when it failed to bring in the tourists needed to make it a profitable attraction, the owner literally took it on the road, or rather on the river. He moved it onto a barge and took it as a traveling tourist attraction down the Ohio River to the other port cities. When he reached the southern end of the river, he was unable to put it on a train to tour the inland cities, so he took it apart, numbered each piece, and traveled with it to state fairs and other well-populated venues, re-erecting it in each new site with the help of local men. Finally it returned to Point Pleasant, was adopted and nurtured by a local group of citizens, and today it stands, painted and polished up, and staffed by a very knowledgable guide.

“Of all the U.S. Grant homes and national sites,” he states proudly, “ours is the only one to have a baby picture of U.S. Grant.” Eyes are directed to the baby crib next to the rope-strung bed covered with a quilt made by a local group of women; see below.

“That get’s a laugh every time,” he chuckles, and proceeds to give us a very personal and insightful tour of the house’s artifacts. The most interesting one was a clever piece of furniture I’ve never seen before, a nanny’s rocker. Built to hold both the nanny or mother and the child behind a removable front enclosure, it clearly was intended to help the woman continue to be productive while the child she was guarding could be comforted with a gentle rocking.  It was an original piece belonging to Grant’s parents.

Nanny Rocker

The remainder of our day was spent traveling into Iowa where we spent a quiet night in a campground outside of East Knoxville, Illinois. Crossing into Iowa at Burlington, I experienced once again that awe that only a river as grand as the Mississippi can inspire.

Mississippi River at Burlington, Iowa