A Presidents' Day Diversion: A Photo Travelogue of James Buchanan's Wheatland

 

Seeking knowledge and adventure, we traveled to Wheatland, the home of James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States. On paper, he seemed highly qualified for the job; he had been Ambassador to England and Russia, a US Representative, Senator and Secretary of State. Yet, he turned out to be a rather disappointing president. (It's hard to imagine the American people could make such a mistake!). So, off we went to Lancaster, PA!

This photo makes our visit official.

They put out the welcome mat for us.

 

The front door of Wheatland. It's maintained just as it was in the 1860s!

The back door of Wheatland.

Buchanan was always concerned about safety.

He was a lawyer, you know.

He was not much into gardening.

I imagined the President stacking these bricks.

He was ahead of his time in some ways.

Buchanan's Mutt Mitt is still in use today!

We were promised a frog pond in the pamphlet, but there were no frogs and no ponds. I settled for this odd ice house/smoke house combo.

Traffic in front of Wheatland. Cool convertible, dude.

The President was imaginative in parking his carriage.

The number of holes is proportionate to wealth and prestige. We didn't realize these were non-functional. Oopsie!

The gift shop had these tiny coffins. I thought there might be bits of Buchanan in them but was afraid to look.