Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

It is fitting that the state referred to as the “Mother of Presidents” (Ohio has eight residents president) also is home of the first presidential library ever created. The history of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center began in 1916 with construction of the Hayes Museum & Library. This memorial to our 195h President served as a model for later presidential libraries, in particular the second such institution – the FDR Library. Major additions in 1922 and 1968 brought the Hayes Museum & Library to its present configuration of exhibit galleries, Research Library, and storage areas totaling 52,640 feet. In 1965, the President’s descendants donated the 31-room Hayes Home for use as a house-museum. Today, visitors to the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center can tour the Hayes Home and Hayes Museum, utilize the vast resources of the Hayes Library, visit the President’s burial site, see the original gates from the White House, and walk through 25-acres of President Hayes’ beloved “Spiegel Grove” estate. Admission fees are charged for Home and Museum tours. The Library and grounds can be accessed for free.