Visiting Marion, Ohio and the Harding House

Recently I took a trip to Marion, Ohio with my mom and frequent adventure buddy Erin. The goal of this trip was to visit the home of the 29th U.S. President- Warren G. Harding. Harding was president from 1921 until his death in 1923 and his home and presidential library is open for visiting. Read on to find out more about visiting Marion, Ohio and the Harding House.

Harding House

The home of Warren G. Harding, located in Marion, Ohio is significant not just because it was home of the president, but also because of the front porch campaign that Harding conducted. This campaign allowed Harding to remain mostly in Marion, and visitors would come here to listen to him speak. Can you even imagine this happening today?

Visiting Harding House

To see inside the house you must take a guided tour, which are available on the hour beginning one hour after opening. Admission cost is $16 for adults, $15 for seniors, veterans and college students, $8 for students aged 6-17 and free for children 5 and under. When we visited, we got in for free thanks to my membership to the Ohio History Connection. This pass, which costs $50 a year, gets members into many historical sites around Ohio. Find out more about that here. Active military also get into the house for free.

If you opt to not take a tour, you can also visit the Harding Presidential Library and Museum for $10 ($8 for students). Tickets for whichever option you choose are available for advance purchase from this website, though the day we visited we were able to walk in and enjoy a tour. We really enjoyed the tour and learned so much about President Harding, I really recommend it!

About Harding House

Warren Harding and his wife, Florence Kling, had the house built during their engagement in 1890-1891. The 2,500 sq./ft. home, located at 380 Mt. Vernon Avenue in Marion, was built in the Queen Anne style, and has four bedrooms, a reception hall, parlor, library, dining room and kitchen. It had many modern features for its time, including gas lighting and indoor plumbing! Another feature was the large rectangular porch. The Harding’s were married at this house, and it was their home for the next 30 years. The Harding House opened to the public in February 1926, following the president’s death.

Warren Harding was publisher of the Marion Daily Star newspaper, which he bought when he was 19 years old. With success throughout the years the Harding’s made many updates to their home, including replacing the front porch and making it larger, with the round bandstand area. This is also when they decided to change the exterior color, which was originally brown, to the Kelly green it is today. They also added electricity to the house- to every room except the kitchen that is. The Harding’s also wallpapered every room in their home, and some of the ceilings.

In 2016 it was announced that Harding House would close for several years to restore and reconstruct the house. During the renovations from 2017-2020 the house was painstakingly restored to how it looked in 1920. This included the wallpaper that was discovered during the renovation. All this to say, the home is beautiful! But no pictures are allowed inside, so you just have to imagine what it looks like. Better yet, go see it on your own!

Touring Harding House

The guiding Harding House tour starts on the front porch. This is where Warren G. Harding would have his speeches throughout election season on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Up to 15,000 people would come to hear the speeches, many arriving from out of town by train. Pop up restaurants and souvenirs stands began appearing in Marion. While this style of campaigning may seem odd, former Ohio presidents James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley also ran successful “front porch” campaigns.

Harding gave 100 speeches from his porch, and more than 600,000 people total traveled to hear him. He won with Coolidge as VP against Ohio governor James Cox and his running mate Franklin D Roosevelt, becoming the 29th president. This election was had the largest number of votes up to that date in history, especially thanks to the 19th amendment, which was ratified in 1920.

This election was very significant. As mentioned earlier, it was the first election where women could vote. Harding’s inauguration in 1921 was the first one amplified, so the first the masses could hear the inaugural address. In the presidential museum you can see Harding’s inaugural podium and the suit he was wearing. Harding was the first president to give an address over radio as well as the first president to visit Canada and Alaska in his big train tour.

The Press House

Another site during the tour of the Harding House visitors can see is the ‘Press House’. This tiny house was bought from a catalog in the form of a kit. It was constructed for the newspaper reporters who were covering the 1920 campaign. After, it was used a museum and gift shop, but was repurposed as an exhibit during tours.

During the restoration, apple trees were also planted. During Harding’s campaign there were apple trees that the reporters talked about eating from in their papers. This, and a horseshoe pit, were rebuilt. The pit is where Harding and the reporters would play.

Harding Presidential Library

The Warren G. Harding Presidential Library and Museum was finished in 2021. It includes a gift shop, event space, and collections area of historic objects. Later, a stacks room will be added with Presidential Papers from Harding’s time as president. The Presidential Library talks about Harding’s time as a Ohio senator, Ohio lieutenant governor, US senator and of course President of the United States.

The lobby of the library is meant to resemble the White House, with the white marble and presidential seal on the floor. The collections area includes more than 5,000 historical objects. Included are pins and memorabilia during the campaign, his office desk and chair, his piano and other things he used while at the White House. There are also lots of photos and information about his life, and his untimely death by heart attack while president.

Harding Tomb

While visiting Marion, Ohio and the Harding House, make sure to stop by the Harding Memorial Tomb. President Harding died August 2, 1923 in San Francisco at the age of 57. A train carried him back to DC where he was placed in the East Room on August 7 for viewing by friends and family. Funeral was held the next day at the Capitol. He was then placed on a train for Marion, and a final funeral was held on August 10. He was kept in a temporary vault until December 21, 1927 when he and his wife, who died 15 months after her husband, when a white marble memorial was constructed.

Other things in Marion

While visiting Marion, Ohio and the Harding House you may want to visit the Buckeye Telephone Museum, which is open by appointment. Another option is the Wyandot Popcorn museum, which showcases popcorn wagons and roasters. The popcorn museum is open Wednesday through Sunday in Summer or weekends in November, December, March & April from 1-4pm. Admission is $3-6.

And of course it’s always lovely to walk around the main area of a city and check out the shops and restaurants. We also found the Marion Brewing Company, open Wednesday & Thursday from 4-9, Friday from 3-10, Saturday from noon-10 and Sunday from 1-5. They offer about 12 beers on tap, from seltzers, wheat, IPA to darker porter and stouts. I enjoyed a flight of their delicious beers.

I had a great day visiting Marion, Ohio and the Harding House. It was really cool and informative, I loved learning so much about a past President of the US and his life in Ohio. I hope that you are able to make your own trip to this interesting site. In the meantime, I would love to hear your suggestions for future adventures. Do you have a favorite place in Ohio to see? Leave me a comment below. And keep up to date with my other Ohio (and further afield) trips by subscribing. Until next time!

-Catching Katie