James A. Garfield National Historic Site, in Mentor, Ohio, includes the former home of Garfield, the 20th president of the United States. Garfield served as president from March 4, 1881, until he died on Sept. 19, 1881, after an assassin shot him.
Garfield bought the house in 1876 and built an addition in 1880 to accommodate his large family. Also in 1880, he conducted a front-porch campaign for the presidency from the home. He made speeches there and met visiting delegations. Reporters named the house Lawnfield. In 1885, Garfield’s widow, Lucretia, added a library wing as a memorial to her husband.
A restoration project completed in 1998 returned the home to the condition it was in during the period 1880 to 1904. Conservators reproduced many of the home’s original wallpapers and restored the original woodwork and brass lighting fixtures. Approximately 80 percent of the furnishings and household articles displayed in the home belonged to the Garfield family.
Other buildings on the site include Garfield’s campaign office, a pump house and windmill, a granary, a barn, and a chicken coop. A visitor’s center in an 1893 carriage house has exhibits on Garfield’s life and political career.
The property became a national historic site in 1980. The National Park Service and the Western Reserve Historical Society operate the site.
