Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site

Mission:

The mission of the President Benjamin Harrison Foundation is to increase public understanding of, appreciation for, and participation in the American system of self government through the life stories of an American President.

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to maintaining and preserving the Site as a museum and memorial to the only U.S. President elected from the State of Indiana.  Open to the public as an educational and historical service, the Site seeks to promote patriotism and citizenship through appropriate educational activities and by artfully exhibiting the Victorian time period as Harrison and his family might have experienced it.  We are proud to be designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

History:

Benjamin and Caroline Harrison built the home in 1874-1875.  Harrison lived in the home until he died in 1901, except for his U.S. Senate and presidential years.  His family continued to live in the home until 1913.  His second wife, Mary Lord Harrison, made the home a rental property until 1937, when she sold it to the Jordan Conservatory of Music with the understanding the the home and its artifacts would be forever preserved.  The school used the home as a dormitory while maintaining certain rooms as presidential museum space.  In 1966, a not-for-profit operating foundation was established to run home as a historic site open to the public.  From the 1950s until 1974, tours were by appointment only.  After a 1974 renovation, the entire home was opened for regular daily tours.

In 2001, we requested and received funding for an extensive Carriage House reconstruction project and the installation of an elevator and elevette that for the first time allowed full museum access to all visitors, including those with disabilities.  In 2003, the museum earned accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums.  In 2006, the museum was awarded a "Save America's Treasures" matching grant from the National Park Service for site recovery and repair.  In 2007, the museum acquired (by "saving" from public auction) a marvelous collection of more than 800 items of rich Harrison family culture.