Wheatland (Lancaster)

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Wheatland is the historic estate in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States.

[edit] The estate

William Jenkins, a lawyer, built and named the Federal mansion house in 1828. Buchanan purchased the property - three tracts totallying 22.45 acres, including the mansion and several outbuildings, in December 1848 from William Morris Meredith, a Philadelphia lawyer.

Harriet Lane Johnston, the president's niece, inherited the estate when Buchanan died at Wheatland on June 1, 1868. A resident of Baltimore, Maryland, she used Wheatland as a summer retreat. In 1884 the estate was purchased by George B. Willson, a Lancaster businessmen. Willson made relatively few alterations to the building, although he did install electricity and plumbing, and in 1893, he sold off 13 of the original 22 acres to Henry Williamson. When Willson died in 1929, Wheatland was inherited by Mary Willson Rettew, a cousin, who died in 1934. The James Buchanan Foundation for the Preservation of Wheatland was incorporated on August 11, 1935, and the property was purchased from the Rettew estate on February 27, 1936.

Wheatland sits next to the Lancaster County Historical Society in a residential neighborhood just outside the Lancaster city limits. Currently, the mansion, carriage house, privy, and smokehouse/icehouse sit on the 4.25 acres owned by The James Buchanan Foundation. The mansion, privy, and smokehouse/icehouse date from 1828, when the mansion was built. The carriage house is thought to have been built by George Willson.

The buildings have been restored to show life during the years of Buchanan’s occupancy (1848-1868). The estate is a national historic landmark, supported by admission fees and memberships.

[edit] Wheatland historically

Buchanan developed a deep affection for Wheatland, enjoying the comforts and tranquility of home amid the troubles, perplexities, and difficulties of public life.^{[citation needed]}

When he retired to Wheatland, many famous leaders visited the estate to seek his advice and support.^{[citation needed]} He successfully ran his 1856 national campaign from Wheatland instead of doing extensive travelling.

Once elected president, he made few attempts to preserve the union, and largely failed until a new president, Abraham Lincoln, was elected from the newly-formed Republican Party. The southern states promptly seceded, and the center shifted, leaving Buchanan no longer a centrist, but instead vilified by the party in power.