Discover the Harding Memorial and Its Historical Significance

Marion, Ohio

Marion, Ohio is known for many things. It has several historic buildings that were on the Underground Railroad, and used to be a major industrial hub, home to the Marion Steam Shovel/Power Shovel Company that created some of the machinery that helped dig the Panama Canal. It’s also the place that spawned Warren G. Harding, the 29th U.S. President.

While Harding was actually born in Blooming Grove, Ohio back in 1865, and also spent some of this childhood in Caledonia, Marion is where he made his mark as owned of the Marion Star newspaper. He also owned a home there, where you can literally stand in his footsteps on same spot that he used for his Front Porch Campaign.

Marion is also the place where he and his wife are buried, after he somewhat controversially died in office.

Warren G. Harding as President

Harding’s much-maligned presidency began on March 4, 1921. During his time in office, he played a part in the Teapot Dome Scandal by appointing two of the people embroiled in it, Harry Daugherty, and Albert B. Fall to cabinet seats. This was in addition to the Veteran’s Bureau and Justice Department scandals.

Outside of politics, Harding also had a years-long affair with Nan Britton, who gave birth to his child out of wedlock. (To make a long story short, Harding thought he was infertile, and it wasn’t until 2015 that it DNA proved Elizabeth Ann Britton Harding Blaesing was his child.)

Harding never had children with his wife, Florence Kling Harding, a slightly older divorced woman with a child from her previous marriage. She and Warren married in 1891. He was caught cheating on her with her friend, Carrie Phillips, in 1911, starting a pattern that defined their marriage.

He cheated, she supposedly looked the other way, and she did her part to petition the Republican delegates needed to get him his presidential candidacy. Friends called her “The Duchess” because she enjoyed the power of their combined social standing.

Death While in Office

Throughout his life, Harding enjoyed several indulgences, among them drinking alcohol and smoking, although his wife publicly decried both habits and supported Prohibition. (Ever “The Duchess” she still served alcohol to her guests in the White House during Prohibition.)

Due to Harding’s habits, not to mentioned the extreme amount of stress he must’ve been under thanks to hiding Nan Britton’s little secret about their relationship, it should come as no surprise that he died very young. In 1923, while taking a train from Washington state to San Francisco, California, he fell ill. The ailments of a previous day were thought to be a stomach issue, but when he got sick again a day later, doctors realized that the problem was his heart. (Still, rumors abound that Florence got sick of his womanizing ways and poisoned him.)

Not much could be done, and Harding died on August 2, 1923, roughly halfway into his first term as president.

The Harding Memorial

Shortly after Harding died, fundraising started. He wanted to be buried in Marion, and made those wishes clear to everyone who knew him. While his body (and Florence’s – she died a year after he did) temporarily rested in the Marion Cemetery Receiving Vault, construction started on the Greek-inspired memorial that became their final resting place.

Built between 1926 and 1927, the Harding Memorial’s design was inspired by a Greek temple. The columns measure 28 feet high by five feet wide, and are made of Georgia white marble. Due to Harding’s desire to have his tomb out in the open, under the sky, the structure has no roof.

He and his wife rest in black marble tombs. Although they were interred shortly after construction was completed, the memorial wasn’t dedicated until 1931, thanks to the news of the scandals that occurred during his presidency.

A set of informational panels stand near the entrance to the structure. The panels contain pictures of Harding and his wife, as well as details on their lives.