James Garfield House   Save
Ohio Department of Industrial and Economic Development
Description: This image shows the James Garfield House in Mentor, Ohio. James Abram Garfield was the twentieth President of the United States. Garfield purchased the home in 1876 to accommodate his growing family. The home, named Lawnfield by onlookers, was the site of the first successful front porch campaign in 1880. That same year, Garfield had 11 more rooms added to the building to accommodate his large family. James A. Garfield was President from March 4, 1881, until his death on September 19, 1881. Four years after his assassination, the Memorial Library wing was added by Mrs. Garfield and her family - setting the precedent for presidential libraries. In 1859, Garfield began a political career, winning election to the Ohio Senate as a member of the Republican Party. During the Civil War, Garfield resigned his position as president of Hiram College and joined the Union Army. He began as lieutenant-colonel of the Forty-Second Ohio Volunteer Infantry and fought in the Battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga. He resigned from the army on December 5, 1863, with the rank of major general. Garfield resigned his commission because Ohio voters had elected him to the United States House of Representatives. He served nine consecutive terms in the House of Representatives before he was elected President of the United States in 1880. In Congress, Garfield was a supporter of the Radical Republicans. He opposed President Andrew Johnson's lenient policy toward the conquered Southern states and demanded the enfranchisement of African-American men. Garfield served for only four months before he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau. The president lived for two more months, before dying on September 19, 1881. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: AL06509
Subjects: Garfield, James A. (James Abram), 1831-1881; National parks & reserves; Historic houses
Places: Mentor (Ohio); Lake County (Ohio)