2026 Summer Adventure #6 Part 1

 This 10-day adventure was filled with history, trolls, family, friends, and more.  So instead of one huge post, I broke it down into shorter posts.

As you should know by now, this year is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  I decided to celebrate by reading and listening to books about the revolution and leaders of the time, including women, as well as other presidents.  Beyond reading, I watched some videos and made a few historical stops throughout the summer.

My first stop on this trip was U.S. Grant's birthplace.  It was a very small home in Pleasant Plain, Ohio, along the Ohio River.  They had many of Grant's artifacts, including his Bible, which he used during his inauguration; a lock of Julia Grant's hair that he carried during the Civil War; and more.  Let me just say that Bible was huge.  The gentleman giving the tour knew a lot about Grant. The home itself had some additions after the Grant family moved.  After the Civil War, the home was moved to a different locations for exhibitions until the community decided to bring it back to Pleasant Plain in 1936 to the original location.  A year after the home returned, the Ohio River had a record flood that filled it.

Picture of the house during the flood, as the water was almost to the roof.  Artifacts, including the Bible, were next to the box. The picture of Grant was taken the day after Lincoln died.  It was already scheduled, so Grant reluctantly stood for it.

I then went on to Grant's boyhood home in Georgetown, Ohio.  They are only 30 minutes apart, so it is worth making both stops.  At the boyhood home, the ladies working there reminded me that July 23 was the date Grant died.  I seriously didn't realize it. At this location, you get a good idea of what Grant's life was like as a child.  His father's tannery was across the street.  Grant was very good with horses.  He also helped a gentleman get a huge rock out of a stream bed.  The man couldn't get it out, and Grant went down and figured out a way to remove it using a team of horses and some rope. This rock now sits behind his boyhood home, so the story can be shared.

The doors were meant to impress.    The couch is made of horsehair.

The rock that Grant moved.                            The tannery

After visiting these two locations, as well as Galena, Illinois, earlier in the summer, and listening to his memoir on this trip, I have decided that many have misjudged Grant, including myself.  I am really glad that I have learned so much more about him.  He was very honest, and his word meant something.  His memoir is very detailed, and he wrote it with help from his children, who put it together; then Mark Twain published it.  I hope to visit his home in the St. Louis area and his tomb in New York someday.

 

I had to pull over for this picture.                                    Grant wasn't a very tall man.