Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch, Vermont

I told a young friend about our trip to Vermont when we got back.  I told them that we stopped at the Calvin Coolidge State Historical Site and they asked me, "Who is Calvin Coolidge?"

Well, if you don't know, Calvin was the 30th President of the United States, and he was a former VP.  Without getting too detailed about his run, he was a conservative endorsing small government, and racial equality.

Anyway, the Coolidge site in Plymouth Notch is the only major site directly associated with a former POTUS in Vermont.  It is spectacularly maintained too!

We drove to the Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site, which was very nice.  We bought our tickets and watched a film on Coolidge and the area.  Plymouth Notch has several buildings associated with Coolidge and his family.  There was a large tour group there on the day we visited, so there were no formal tours going on, just guides at various stops. 

We saw where he was born, where his dad swore him in as president, and other associated sites.  We talked to the director of the site at one stop who said Ladybird Johnson had spent time on the grounds, and she was a big fan of the place.  The director did get to meet her during her lifetime. 

There is a cheese shop among the buildings, where we had samples.  They still use cheese making equipment from the 1890s.  A very enthusiastic employee told us about the shop, and the cheese making process.

The old post office (which is still a working US post office!) is on the grounds, along with a small country store where the Coolidges worked.


Calvin's summer White House is here, in a basic upstairs area above the post office and store.  When we visited, we had the entire summer White House to ourselves!

After that, we drove to the cemetery and found Calvin Coolidge's grave.  It is a short drive (you could walk it) from the main historic site area.