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Ulysses S. Grant Home
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| Location: | Galena, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, USA |
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| Built: | 1859-60<[1] |
| Architect: | William Dennison[2] |
| Architectural style: | Italianate |
| Governing body: | Illinois Historic Preservation Agency |
| NRHP Reference#: | 66000322 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP: | October 15, 1966[3] |
| Designated NHL: | December 19, 1960 |
The Ulysses S. Grant Home in Galena, Illinois is the former home of Ulysses S. Grant, the Civil War General and later 18th President of the United States. The home was given to Grant by residents of Galena as thanks for his war service in 1865, and has been maintained as a memorial to Grant since 1904. The home was constructed in 1859 - 1860[1] and designed by William Dennison.[2] The home was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960 and added to the National Register of Historic Places upon its inception in 1966.[4]
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In the years leading up to the Civil War, Grant and his family lived in Galena, with Grant working at a store owned by his father and managed by his brothers. Grant and his wife Julia rented a brick home, which today is privately owned and not open to tours. In 1861, Grant left Galena to fight in the Civil War.
A year prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, in 1860 city clerk Alexander J. Jackson had the house built on Bouthillier Street.[2] At the conclusion of the Civil War, a group of local Republicans, led by Thomas B. Hughlett, pooled their money and purchased the home for $2,500 (equal to $35,750 today) in June 1865.[2] Two months later this group of men presented the house to the Grant family, upon their return to Galena. Grant lived at the house until his election as President in 1868. He and his family were so fond of some of the furnishings that they took them with them to Washington. Grant continued to make occasional visits to the area, staying at his house while in town. His final visit took place in 1880.[2]
Following Grant's death, his children donated the house to the city of Galena in 1904 on the condition that it be maintained as a memorial to Grant. The city, finding that maintaining the home was too costly, transferred ownership of the house to the state of Illinois in 1931.[2]
In 1911 a storm damaged a portion of the Grant Home. While most of the house suffered little damage, the portion of the house containing the kitchen was seriously damaged; as a result, most of the items in the kitchen were not actually owned by the Grants while they lived in the house. In 1955 an extensive renovation of the house was done, restoring the appearance to that of the house in 1868 when it appeared in Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.[2]
The house was designed in the Italianate style by William Dennison. Typical of buildings done in that style, the home featured well defined rectangular shapes, a roof with a low pitch, balustraded balconies extending out over covered porches, and projecting eaves.[2]
A statue of First Lady Julia Grant was placed on the grounds of the Grant Home and dedicated in 2006. A statue of U.S. Grant stands in Galena's Grant Park, which is visible from the grounds.
Located on Bouthillier Street, the house is owned by the state of Illinois and managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.[1] The Grant House was designated a National Historic Landmark on December 19, 1960.[4] On October 15, 1966 the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places, shortly after that program's creation.[3] The Grant House also lies within the Galena Historic District, designated in 1969, the district has more than 1,000 contributing properties.[5]
The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency operates the Grant Home as a historic house museum with rooms furnished to represent a mid-1860s appearance. Many of the furnishings belonged to the Grant family. Tours are given by interpreters dressed in period costumes. Information is given about Grant's activities during the Civil War up through his presidency. An adjacent building houses exhibits about Grant and the history of the home.
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