Vermont’s State Historic Sites are all interesting, but President Calvin Coolidge Homestead is definitely my favorite. So, if you find yourself near Woodstock or Quechee, or Killington, don’t miss the chance to go and visit (in the summer or fall of course).
In the middle of the cute and tiny village of Plymouth Notch, surrounded by open fields and mountain backdrops, stand both the humble house where President Calvin Coolidge was born and the one where he was raised, where he took his oath as the 30th president of the United States and which became his summer White House. Watching the old footage of the activity at the time (such as the arrival and departure of various elegantly-dressed officials by car) is truly fascinating. You soon realize that the village today is exactly the way it was in 1924-1925! And you imagine the commotion which must have created the “summer White House” in the middle of the countryside, far from any large city, at a time when Vermont roads were not even paved!
The house however is telling you a lot more about the humble way his family lived than about its very “official” function. It looks everything BUT a White House! The rooms are very simply furnished exactly as they were in 1923 and you can see how laundry was done (took 2 days every week), how meals were prepared, etc…. From an architectural point of view, the house is also a perfect example of the “connected farm”, also described in books as “the big house, the little house, the back house and the barn” – a succession of connected buildings typical to the agricultural landscape of the time.
But the Calvin Coolidge Homestead is in fact only one of 16 structures of a larger complex, the Plymouth Notch Historic District. Carefully preserved are the community church, the one-room schoolhouse, the general store and several homes of President Coolidge’s family and neighbors. And the humble grave of President Calvin Coolidge can be seen in the little cemetery across the road.
You’ll have the chance to visit traditional farm buildings – barns and stables – and, if you’d like, take a ride in a horse-driven wagon through the open fields. In the stables, you’ll even see a couple of old horse-drawn US Mail carriages and other vehicles.
You can finally enjoy lunch at the restaurant, or picnic outdoors surrounded by the quite spectacular panoramic views.
Overall, two or three hours of delightful and relaxing time… a perfect activity for a late spring, summer or fall afternoon! Definitely our favorite Vermont State Historic Site!
If you visited this site, make sure to leave us a comment to tell us what you thought of it.
Note: July 4th is a special day of celebration at President Calvin Coolidge site, for the anniversary of his birthday. He is the only U.S. president born on the Fourth of July!
Opening hours: Open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – from end of May to mid-October
More on President Calvin Coolidge Historic Site
Born and raised in Brittany, France, I have lived for 25 years in Montreal, Quebec, 
Plymouth, Vermont and the Coolidge Homestead are among my favorite destinations. My first visit was in August of 1976. Plymouth was a stop on a bicycle trip from Newton, Massachusetts on my way to visit my brother in Montreal. That previous winter, I had played Calvin Coolidge in an “alternative theatre” production – “The Calvin Coolidge Follies.” Ever since, “Silent Cal” has occupied a central role in my life. As I came up from Bridgewater, the Ottqaquechee River was rushing towards me. Yet, now and again I experienced the illusion that I was going downhill. It was near sunset; I was tired when I reached the village and I had it all to myself.
Calvin and Grace Coolidge spent their honeymoon in Montreal. That would have been the week following their marriage which took place in Burlington on October 4, 1905. They had planned to stay for two weeks but after one felt they had seen enough and went on home to set up housekeeping in Northampton, Massachusetts.
I’ve always wanted to know more about that week. They saw all the shows. I’ve wondered: What did they see? I don’t know where they stayed. What would have been the “sights” they would have seen? What kind of weather did they enjoy?
When Coolidge became president on the night of August 2nd, 1923 – that trip to Montreal was his only trip outside the United States. Toward the end of his administration he went to Cuba – our only president to visit that island while in office. I’ve hoped that one day I would be in Montreal and able to conduct some research on that week in 1905. It probably will not happen.
Hello Jim,
Thanks for sharing that story! I love this kind of stories, which link different places I love and also call me to play History Detective! I don’t know where you live, but I hope you’ll get a chance to go to Montreal. It is less than 2 hours from Burlington afterall.
You got me curious about the name of the hotel they could have stayed at. I know which are the “fancy” hotels in Montreal with famous guests, and they are usually proud of talking about them. So, I started some searching myself, just on Google. Well, interestingly, it is not that simple. The Ritz Carlton comes to mind, but even though Calvin Coolidge was a guest of that hotel in Altantic City, he did not spend his honeymoon there in Montreal, because the Ritz Carlton Montreal hotel opened in 1912. This link “History of the Ritz Carlton in Montreal” is showing that the detective work is going to be somewhat challenging as the article states that the Ritz Carlton Montreal “is the only hotel in Montreal still in existence from this era.”
Well, Jim, make sure to let us know if you learn more!
When my brother was alive – I often visited Montreal. Now, I live in Quincy, Massachusetts; I was born in Montpelier and grew up very near you on my grandparents farm in Waits River attending the one-room school for my first three grades. This would have been in the 1940s with the Second World War going on. We had no car. Sometimes, my grandfather would get a ride in one of the trucks from the bobbin mill making a delivery in Barre. And, there was “the stage” – driven by Sherman Bragg carrying the US Mail from Montpelier to Barre to Bradford and back. He made that circuit twice a day; you could get a ride with him.
I’m sure that Calvin Coolidge’s accommodations on his 1905 honeymoon in Montreal were decent but modest. I’m guessing they stayed at a place that was recommended by friends and possibly advertised in the newspapers. By-the-way – the photo you have is not of the Homestead. I believe it is of the Wilder House and – it needs paint.
The photo you use, Christine, is of the Aldrich House in Plymouth Notch. It was in the process of being painted when you took the photograph. The Aldrich house was the home of Calvin Coolidge’ step-mother and later that of Eugene Aldrich who was the first cheesemaker at the Plymouth Cheese Factory. It lalter was the home of his daughter, Ruth, who operated a tea house called “Top of the Notch”. Ruth, known to all as Midge, had tourist cabins constructed in 1927. Today the house is the site’s administrative office and the tourist cabins have been restored with original furnishings.