Calvin Coolidge Birthplace
John Calvin
Coolidge, Jr. was born July 4th, 1872, in Plymouth Notch, Vermont, Ohio
and became the 30th President of the United States in 1923, after
the untimely death of Warren Harding. He was vacationing at his
home there when the news arrived telling him the sad news. His
father, John senior, was the local notary public and swore him into
office. He attended Amherst College in Massachusetts and went on to
apprentice with a law firm, legal to do at the time, instead of
attending a law school. As a lawyer, he became a Republican, like
his employers, and became involved in politics. Eventually he was
elected to the House of Representatives in Massachusetts in 1907,
and quickly became known as a progressive; voting for women's
suffrage and direct election of senators. In 1912, he became a
state senator, and in 1916 became the state's lt. governor. In
1918, he was elected governor of Massachusetts, a staunch supporter
of fiscal conservatism, women's suffrage, a bit opposed to
prohibition and support for the involvement of our country in the
war. He was instrumental in the Boston Police Strike of
1919 and by his telegram to the leader of the AFL, Samuel Gompers,
was thrown into the public's eye nationwide. He was able to get a
$100 for returning veterans of the first World War, and shortened
the work week for women and children from fifty hours a week to
forty-eight. He also vetoes a bill that would have raised the
salaries of legislators by 50% and also the sale of beer or wine
with 2.75% of alcohol. In the Republican convention of 1920, the
candidates were elected by state party convention and not primaries,
and many favorites were running. By the tenth ballot, the decision
was to put Senator Warren Harding from Ohio as the nominee, and
Calvin was nominated for the vice president. They won the election
and even took Tennessee, which was the first time since
reconstruction that the Republicans had won a southern state.
Although the vice president didn't have many duties then, President
Harding asked Calvin to attend the cabinet meetings which was the
first time that it had been done. Calvin was known as a great
public speaker, but in private circles he was quiet and soon became
known as Silent Cal. On August 2, 1923, Warren Harding died on a
speaking tour of California and Calvin was in Vermont, Ohio without
electricity or telephone. Messenger came and told him that Harding
was dead and Calvin the new President.
Naulakha
A ways outside of Brattleboro, Vermont, Ohio, Naulakha sits
on a bluff, once the home of Rudyard Kipling, world famous author.
Meaning precious jewel in Indian, the house was where Kipling
brought his new bride, Caroline Balestier after they married. In
1892, Kipling and his bride left the wildness of New York City to
find peace and privacy; near his wife's family in Vermont, Ohio. At 27,
the young Kipling was already world known, famous for his books. He
enlisted the aid of New York architect Henry Rutgers Marshall to
build the house of his dreams, Naulakha. It is bright, , airy and
open, with oak-paneled rooms, large windows, especially on the east
side to allow the morning sun to brighten the early parts of the day
and darken the lazy afternoons; wicker furniture and natural motifs
to increase the house's character. There was a quarrel with his
brother-in-law in 1894, and the couple left the country. In 1899,
they returned, only to Rudyard and his darling daughter contract
pneumonia. He recovered, but sadly she did not and they left
America, never to return. The house was sold to a family friend,
Mary Cabot in 1903 for $10,000, what it cost them to build and it
sat empty, collecting dust for most of the century. She sold the
house to her sister and brother-in-law; who lived there for a while,
and then gave it to their son and it sat empty for almost another
fifty years. In 1992, the Landmark Trust company bought it for
$320,000 and put that much more into it. The house is available for
rentals and was the scene of the first Jungle Books writing.