Whose Home?: Presidents Edition

U.S. presidents live in one of the most recognized homes in the world during their presidency. But what about before and after? Their homes can reveal a lot about their priorities and decisions as president or how their legacy is remembered afterward. Many presidents' homes are now preserved as national parks for Americans to study and reflect on their role in history.

Guess which president lived in each home based on the clues. Slide the arrow over each image to the left or right to reveal the correct answer!

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home was once part of a 160-acre homestead in rural Indiana and is a living history farm today.
2. This home’s president was the first president to grow up in a log cabin.
3. This home’s president led the nation through one of the most turbulent periods in history.

  Answer

This was the home of the 16th president: Abraham Lincoln. From these humble beginnings came one of the most important figures in the American Civil War, during which he delivered the Gettysburg Address and enacted the pivotal Emancipation Proclamation. This presidential home can be visited at Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial in Lincoln City, Indiana. 

  

Who Lived Here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home was known for its charming “commonness”.
2. This home’s president was the only US president to engage in combat during the First World War.
3. This home’s president was president at the end the Second World War.

  Answer

This was the home of the 33rd president: Harry S Truman. The Truman family moved into this house at the end of his eight-year presidency in 1953. This presidential home can be visited at the Harry S Truman National Historic Site in Independence, Missouri. 

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home sits atop one of Cincinnati’s most prominent hills.
2. This home’s president was the first president to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
3. This home’s president taught law at Yale University.

  Answer

This was the home of the 27th president: William Howard Taft. He was born and raised in this two-story Greek Revival-style house. Known as the “Gentle Giant”, Taft remains the only president to have served on the Supreme Court and was even its 10th chief justice. This presidential home can be visited at the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photos

Right image
Credit: NPS Photo

Clues:

1. This home stands in rural Arkansas.
2. This home’s president was the third youngest president.
3. This home’s president attended Georgetown University, University College of Oxford, and Yale Law School.

  Answer

This was the home of the 42nd president: Willian Jefferson Clinton. He was born in the house and learned to walk, talk, pray, read, and count in it while growing up in the care of his grandparents. This home can be visited at the President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site in Hope, Arkansas.

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: Courtesy of Audrey C. Tiernan Photography, Inc. (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home was known as both Sagamore Hill and “the Summer White House”.
2. This home’s president created the U.S. Forest Service and enacted the Antiquities Act of 1906.
3. This home’s president was a Rough Rider, rancher, conservationist, and colonel.

  Answer

This was the home of the 26th president: Theodore Roosevelt. He purchased the 155-acre Sagamore Hill at the age of 22 and commissioned his Queen Anne architecture home. Sagamore acted as a working farm yielding fruit and vegetable groves, hay and straw, cows, turkeys, pigs, and chickens. This presidential home can be visited at the Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Oyster Bay, New York.

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home and it’s porch greeted many well-wishers during the presidential campaign in 1880. 

2. This home’s president was a teacher, preacher, school principal, congressman, Civil War general, and senator. 

3. This home’s president had seven children. One became a well-known architect, another became the Secretary of the Interior from 1907-1909, and another became the president of Williams College from 1908-1934. 

  Answers

This was the home of the 20th president: James A. Garfield. Tragically, he was assassinated six and a half months after being inaugurated. This home can be visited at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio. 

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home has an elegant interior aesthetic, a presidential putting green, and acres of Pennsylvania cropland, farms, and Angus-grazing pastures. 

2. This home’s president was the first Supreme Commander of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO}. 

3. This home’s president was the president of Columbia University from 1948-1953. 

  Answer

This was the home of the 34th president: Dwight D. Eisenhower. He was a war hero and one of the most important American generals of World War II. Despite being a five-star general and the Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower believed in humility and stated that, “the true heroic man of this war is G.I. Joe (the average soldier)”. This home can be visited at the Eisenhower National Historic Site in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. 

  

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home is currently filled with 85% of it’s original belongings.
2. This home’s president was a tailor’s apprentice at the age of nine.
3. This home’s president was the first US president to be impeached.

  Answer

This was the home of the 17th president: Andrew Johnson. He was the first president who wasn’t a military hero nor studied law. However, this self-taught man eventually held almost every political office. Known as the “courageous commoner” and the “accidental president”, Johnson’s life was marked by passionate debate and controversy. This home can be visited at the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site in Greenville, Tennessee.

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS Photo (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home was the typical starter home for a young late 19th-century family. It originally only had two rooms.
2. This home’s president accidently set his father’s farm on fire.
3. This home’s president served as the director of U.S. Food Administrations and the third U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

  Answer

This was the home of the 31st president: Herbert Hoover. He established Arches National Park on April 12, 1929, which was the first of many parks supported and conservations efforts undertaken by Hoover. This home can be visited at the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site in West Branch, Iowa. 

Who lived here?

Left image
Credit: NPS / Cynthia Dorminey (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Clues:

1. This home was known as the “Texas White House”.
2. This home’s president was born, raised, and died on this property.
3. This home’s president was a teacher and felt very strongly about education.

  Answer

This was the home of the 36th president: Lyndon B. Johnson. He assumed the presidency after the assassination of John F. Kennedy and worked to continue both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This home can be visited at the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park in Johnson City, Texas.

Bonus: Who did not live here?

Left image
Credit: USPP / Muller (left), Library of Congress (right)

Right image
Credit: Library of Congress

Which president did not live in this house? Clues:

1. This home’s location was selected in 1791.
2. This home was designed by Irish architect James Hoban who won a contest.
3. This home takes 570 gallons of paint to cover its outside surface.

  Answer

This was not the home of the first president George Washington, who lived at nearby Mount Vernon while the presidential mansion was being built. Now known as the White House, it housed every president during their presidency since the 2nd president John Adams. It currently has 6 levels, 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 412 doors, 147 windows, 28 fireplaces, 8 staircases, and 3 elevators. This home can be seen from President’s Park in Washington, D.C.

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