NPS #11: Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site in St. Louis, Missouri

Ulysses S. Grant Home

When you think of National Park Service (NPS) operated sites within or near St. Louis, you likely think of The Gateway Arch.  Build in extra time for another site near the city - the Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site, also operated by NPS.  Ulysses S. Grant was known as a victorious Civil War general who saved the Union and the 18th President of the United States, serving two terms.  Grant's military career helped him find his love on a plantation called the White Haven.  Grant's former West Point roommate, Frederick T. Dent, invited him to the 850 acre plantation.  It's where Grant met Fred's sister Julia.

Taking the tour

After serving in the Mexican-American War, Grant returned to marry Julia.  You can step onto the porch where he proposed.  Grant lived with his wife Julia and their four children, Julia's parents and siblings, and enslaved African Americans who lived in separate cabins in the 1850s.  They also worked on the farm, growing fruits and vegetables.  The home has been many shades from beige to gray to green to white and returned to green, the color chosen by the Grant family.  Green was a popular color during the Victorian Era.

Photo by Krenda

President Abraham Lincoln appointed Grant as Commanding General of the U.S. Army.  After the Civil War, the Grants began purchasing the property and had a dream of making it a horse-breeding operation.  Julia was an equestrian, enjoyed nature, and had fond memories of the home.  

Time your visit right for a guided tour (offered every 30 minutes or hour), the only way to enter the home.  Budget approximately 45 minutes for the tour.  After the official tour, you can also see the other remaining structures which include the ice house, chicken house, summer kitchen, and horse stable.  It's the horse stable where you will find the park museum with multiple exhibits.  Before or after the tour, consider learning more through a 22-minute orientation film.

Years prior we had also learned about Grant by visiting Grant's birthplace in Point Pleasant, Ohio (located Southeast of Cincinnati).  It's operated locally and admission is only $3.  The house was donated to the State of Ohio and the state invested over a million dollars to restore the house in 2013.  Nearby, you will also see his schoolhouse.  In his later years, Grant lived in New York.  Grant Cottage in Mt. McGregor, New York is a national historic landmark and you can tour for $9.

 

Mom Blooper: Goat & Grant's Farm

It's time out for another "Mom Blooper".  Travel can lead you to so many adventures, including unexpected ones.  People always joke about the ultimate excuse "the dog ate my homework."  Somehow family travel led me to claiming "the goat ate my daughter's snow cone ticket."

It all starts with a casual family outing to Grant's Farm, a family friendly attraction in St. Louis, MO.  It's a great deal - free admission to the park, free tram ride to tour the deer park, a beer garden with free tastings, and free animal shows.  The Busch family, the family who owned the Anheuser-Busch company, owns 281 acre Grant's Farm.  You can see the famous Clydesdale horses and carriage houses even without the $25 Clydesdale Experience Tour.  The park offers a 1.5 hour estate grounds tour "Estate Tour" for $25, but you can spend much longer just walking the grounds and seeing animals.

In this wonderful land of free fun, there's an opportunity to buy a bundled "fun pass" for only $6.  Here's the beginning of "the goat ate my daughter's snow cone ticket" claim.  The pass includes one carousel ride, two goat feeding bottles, and one snow cone.  Who could pass up such a combination?

My daughter entered the goat feeding area with two bottles and her remaining snow cone ticket.  The goats surrounded her.  I don't think she expected goats trying to eat her skirt while trying to feed another goat.  The snow cone ticket got too close to a goat mouth and we watched in terror as the goat quickly snatched it, chewed it, and swallowed it.  My daughter exclaimed "no one's going to believe that the goat ate my snow cone ticket!"  It's a hot day.  Her cousins and brother still own snow cone tickets.  You know it, mom must approach the window to explain to the compassionate employees the entire ordeal.  The employees didn't seem to phased by the story and gave us a snow cone ticket. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the "goats can be aggressive" sign, but we had a fun time overall.