30. Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge was born in the small farming village of Plymouth Notch, Vermont, on the Fourth of July, 1872. Coolidge’s father operated a farm and country store, and he served in a variety of state political offices. Coolidge was born in a small house attached to the back of the store, but four years later the family moved across the street into a New England style farmhouse with attached barn that his father purchased. Coolidge’s rural childhood was spent helping with farm chores and enjoying an active outdoor life. His mother died when he was twelve years old, and Coolidge remembered her with great affection throughout his life. He attended a small local school until he was thirteen, at which time he enrolled in an academy in Ludlow, Vermont. Coolidge’s birthplace and childhood home are preserved as part of the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site.
--Andrew B. Leiter
I arrived in Plymouth Notch on a dreary, rainy afternoon, but proceeded to have one of the best site visits of the project. The rain kept other visitors at bay and I had the entire little town almost to myself. This site is similar to the Carter farm, as the entire area is original and one has the feeling of stepping back in time, especially with few others around to disrupt the reverie. The rain did eventually break and I was able to hike up above the town and make a panorama of the entire village of Plymouth as the clouds lifted just enough for the valley to peek out. In the gift shop, there was a postcard picturing Coolidge sitting outside his boyhood home along with Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone, and Thomas Edison. It made me think of the incredible time that Calvin was born into--the advent of the age of the automobile and all of the inventions Edison brought forth. And what a unique perspective on this progress from a sleepy little town in the hills of Vermont.