25 - William McKinley

William McKinley was born on January 19, 1843, in Niles, Ohio.  The original house was destroyed by fire in 1937, but was reconstructed in 1999.  I have not yet visited the McKinley Birthplace Home.

In 1852, the McKinley family moved to Poland, Ohio.  The home no longer exists, but there is a historical marker.  I have not yet visited the site.

In 1860, McKinley enrolled at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania.  He left school that winter (official story is that he left for health reasons, but school legend is that he was expelled for taking a cow into the bell tower at Bentley Hall).  I am unsure where he lived while at Allegheny.

In 1861, McKinley enlisted in the U.S. Army and fought for the duration of the Civil War, returning home to Poland, Ohio, in 1865.

In 1866, McKinley attended Albany Law School, but left in 1867 without graduating.  He finished his study of law under Judge Charles Glidden in Youngstown, Ohio.

In 1867, McKinley moved to Canton, Ohio, to begin a career in law.  I am unsure of where he lived until 1873.

McKinley married in 1871.  In 1873, the McKinleys lived in a house owned by his father-in-law.  This remained his official residence during his time in United States House of Representatives.  The Saxton-McKinley House is now home to the National First Ladies Library.  I have not yet visited the site.

McKinley became governor of Ohio in 1892 and moved to Columbus.  The McKinleys lived at the Neil House Hotel on High Street, a building which no longer exists.

After completing two terms as Ohio governor, McKinley returned to Canton in 1896, where he ran his famous presidential campaign from his front porch.  He moved into the White House the following year, but this remained his official residence for the last few years of his life.  The home no longer exists and a public library now stands in its place.  There is a historical marker.  I have not yet visited the site.

On September, 6, 1901, McKinley was shot by Leon Czolgosz while receiving the public in the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.  The building no longer exists but there is a marker on Fordham Drive.  I visited the site of the McKinley Assassination in 2014:

The president was taken back to the home where he had been staying while in Buffalo, but died from his wound eight days later on September 14, 2001.  The home no longer stands, but there is a marker.  I visited the site of the Millburn House in 2014:

McKinley was originally interred at the Wertz Receiving Vault in Canton's West Lawn Cemetery.  It took six years to raise the funds and build the memorial where McKinley was laid to rest.  The ninety-six foot domed pink granite building stands on a grass-covered hill overlooking the city of Canton, Ohio.  I first visited the McKinley National Memorial in 1975:

....and then again in 1977:

Here is a photo of me with my father at McKinley's statue on the steps leading up to the memorial, the first in 1975 and the second in 1977.  You can tell that I grew a bit in those two years, but apparently my father didn't, as it seems that he is wearing the same clothes on both trips :-)

Here's one with my mother.  This one taken in 1975 at the entrance to the tomb:

And finally, here are two photos from inside the tomb, with the sarcophagi (the first from the 1975 visit, the second from the 1977 visit):

Although not part of the system of presidential libraries administered by the National Archives, the Stark County Historical Society oversees a presidential library and museum adjacent to the burial site in Canton, Ohio.  The photo below was taken inside the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in 1977:

A memorial, museum, and library were erected in Niles, Ohio, the city of McKinley's birth.  I have not yet visited the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial.

The state of Ohio has erected the President William McKinley Memorial at the state house in Columbus. The statue of McKinley looks across the street to the former site of the building where the McKinleys lived while in Columbus.  I have not yet visited.

The employees of the post office of Philadelphia erected a bust to William McKinley in Canton, Ohio.  Now at the entrance to the Library and Museum, it once stood along Tuscarawas Street, as seen in this photo from 1975:

After McKinley's assassination in Buffalo, New York, the city erected a monument opposite city hall in Niagara Square.  I visited the McKinley Monument in 2014:

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