Museum Profile
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site
The President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch preserves the birthplace and childhood home of Calvin Coolidge, the 30th President of the United States. Brought to the world’s attention on August 3, 1923, when Calvin Coolidge took the presidential oath of office in the parlor of his family home, the historic village appears much as it was during Coolidge’s lifetime. The homes of the Coolidge family, their relatives, and friends edge the small village green, joined by the 1840 church, 1890 schoolhouse and cheese factory, pre-1835 store with post office and dance hall, and historic agricultural structures and barns. The bucolic image is completed by the 1924 Summer White House office and the tourists’ cabins constructed in 1927 for the first of many visitors making the pilgrimage to explore the rural environs that shaped Coolidge’s life and those of his ancestors who first settled here in the 1780s. A Museum & Education Center, added in 1972 and enlarged in 2010, houses the exhibits and archives recounting Calvin Coolidge’s private and public lives. Visitors to the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site will also enjoy two museum stores, walking trails, and sheltered picnic area. A journey to the Notch ends at the steep hillside cemetery where Calvin Coolidge rests amongst seven generations of his family.
In 1960, the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation was formed by John Coolidge and fellow Coolidge enthusiasts. Headquartered at Plymouth Notch, the Foundation is dedicated to preserving the legacy and promoting the values of America’s 30th president. The Foundation owns and maintains the Union Christian Church, which was constructed in 1840 in the heart of the village. The church was gifted in 1970 to the Foundation by the congregation to ensure preservation of the building within the Village of Plymouth Notch Historic District.
