How to win without winning: Rutherford B. Hayes

In 2000 the nation saw an unusual occurrence in presidential politics.  At the end of election night the nation did not know who the next president would be as the race came down to who won Florida and would take the majority of Electoral College votes.  Ohio has been here before, with our own Rutherford B. Hayes, who in 1876 did not win on election night either.  Like modern times, Florida in 1876 was part of the undecided vote.

    Hayes came up a quarter of a million votes less than New York’s Samuel Tilden but through political wrangling was given the nod in Electoral votes, becoming the third of eight from the Buckeyevstate to occupy the White House.  Hayes directly followed Ulysses S. Grant and handed the reigns over to James A Garfield, whose brief tenure thanks to an assassin’s bullet ended a streak of 13 straight years of an Ohioan president.

Rutherford B. Hayes gave up a budding law practice in Delaware, Ohio to offer his services to the nation during the Civil War.  Appointed as Major of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Hayes served with distinction and rose to the rank of Major General.  Elected to Congress in 1864, Hayes did not take his seat in Washington until after the war ended.  He went on to become a two-term governor for the state.

    

Hayes moved to Spiegel Grove, the name of the 25-acre estate in Fremont, during 1873 in the midst of his second term as Governor. Upon returning he added a 12,000-book library and a 360-degree wrap around view from a rooftop lantern four stories above the main floor. 

The museum boasts acollection of over 19,000 artifacts and 30,000 images with nearly 2,000 on display within the 52,000 square-foot complex.

Adjacent to the property is the Dillon House, a Victorian era home that today is part of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center. 

      

As the Hayes home, the Dillon House can be toured and offers a pristine glimpse into the splendor of the Victorian Era right down to the hinges on the doors. 

      

Charles Dillon gained his wealth in Fremont operating a drug store and chose to display his wealth by moving directly across the street from the former President. Dillon’s wife was daughter of Rutherford’s first law partner, Ralph Buckland.  Buckland also served in the war with distinction and was elected to Congress and also became the Mayor of Fremont.

    

In the 40-year period between 1869 and 1909 five presidents were either born or called Ohio home.  Ohio was the political hub of the nation as the Victorian Age dawned into the 20^th Century.  Some criticize Ohio’s claim to eight presidents, as William Henry Harrison was neither born here nor technically resided in the state.  His grandson Benjamin and Ulysses S. Grant did not spend particularly much time Ohio despite being born here.  But similar doubt can be cast on Virginia’s similar claim to eight presidents. 

      

Following Hayes to the White House from Ohio would be Garfield (1881), Harrison (1889), McKinley (1897), Taft (1909) and Harding (1921). Where Virginia was the political powerhouse of the Revolutionary Era, Ohio was as the Victorian Era transitioned toward a world erupting in turmoil.

Spiegel Grove, The Rutherford B.Hayes Presidential Center and the Dillon House are located at the corner of Buckland and Hayes Avenues, south of  U.S. Rt. 20  in Fremont, Ohio.

-J.