Amanda Sedlak-Hevener

Exploring Ulysses S. Grant’s Birthplace in Ohio

Point Pleasant, Ohio

Ulysses S. Grant, one of Ohio’s many U.S. Presidents, didn’t live in this building for more than a few months. This structure, a museum known as Grant’s Birthplace Home, was indeed where he was born. However, mere months before he turned one year old, Grant’s family moved to the town of Georgetown, Ohio.

This doesn’t make this small historic home any less interesting, however.

Ulysses S. Grant

Years before he became the 18th U.S. President, Grant was just the son of a tanner. His father, Jesse Root Grant went on to run his own leather goods company, but back in 1822, when his son was born, Jesse Grant was content to settle in a small house with his wife, Hannah Simpson Grant. Remember her maiden name, because it becomes important later on.

Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in this tiny home. His original name was Hiram Ulysses Grant. Once he matriculated to West Point when he was 17, his name was accidentally changed. The custom of the day was to use the mother’s maiden name as her child’s middle name, so it made sense to the people at West Point, who knew him only as Ulysses, so sign him up as Ulysses Simpson Grant. The name stuck, and he went by it for the rest of his life.

Ulysses S. Grant’s Birthplace Home

The saga of how this home was preserved and where it wound up as it did is much more dramatic. According to the Ohio History Connection, after Grant died in 1885, the home, still standing, was moved to Ohio Valley Centennial Exposition. Then Henry T. Chittenden bought it for $3,000, and placed it on display in a Columbus park.

Meanwhile, fans and friends of the Grant family in Point Pleasant started looking for a way to bring the home back where it belonged. They (as well as some people who worked for the State of Ohio) created the U. S. Grant State Memorial Association. The money raised went to building a better road to Point Pleasant, as well as a crucial bridge.

Once the infrastructure was in the place, in 1936 the building was dismantled, carefully moved to Point Pleasant, and then reconstructed on its original foundation. The home is now a museum dedicated to the history of this present.

Inside U.S. Grant’s Birthplace Home

The entrance to the home opens to a small gift shop and spot where you can purchase admission to the museum. After that, a very knowledgeable tour guide points out the important things in the one-room home, including period furnishings, a trunk that belonged to Jesse Root Grant, and plenty of memorabilia from Ulysses S. Grant’s Presidential years.

Although the historic home isn’t as impressive as William H. Taft’s boyhood home, it illustrates the humble beginnings that Grant came from. Add in its proximity to towns like New Richmond, and it makes sense why Ulysses S. Grant was such a fervent abolitionist.

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