Grant Birthplace
The Grant Birthplace in Point Pleasant, Ohio was the birthplace of President Ulysses S. Grant, who was born there in 1822. The home was built in 1817, and in 1821 Jesse Root Grant wed Hannah Simpson Grant (Ulysses's parents) and they moved into the home where they paid $2 a month rent. Today it is furnished with items that once belonged to Grant, as well as a few period items. This was the home of the future president for the first 18 months of his life.
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Jesse and Hannah Grant moved into a humble one-story cottage in Point Pleasant, Ohio, after their wedding in 1821. The house had been built in 1817 as a tannery worker’s dwelling. Ulysses S. Grant, named by his parents Hiram Ulysses Grant, was born April 27, 1822, in the clapboard home. The following year, the family moved nearby to Georgetown, Ohio where Jesse opened a tannery and built a more spacious house of brick.
The house where Grant was born was not recognized as a noteworthy building until after Grant’s death in 1885. Soon after that, the little home was lifted from its foundation and moved by boat to Cincinnati for public exhibition. From 1885 to 1896 the home was on the move across the state and the nation for expositions, state fairs, and other events. Between 1896 and 1936 it sat on the Ohio State Fairgrounds, sheltered in a limestone and glass pavilion. After 50 years on the road, in 1935, the Clermont County legislators and the Ohio Historical Society secured the passage of an act authorizing the Society to move the building back to its Point Pleasant original location. It was moved and dedicated in 1936.
In 1922, the nation celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of Grant’s Birth in Point Pleasant, Ohio even though the house was still located at the Ohio State Fairgrounds. Grant's birth home.President Warren G. Harding delivered a speech honoring Grant, and newspapers across the state and nation covered the event. The Ohio Historical Society recognized this event with articles and poems about Grant in its scholarly journal, Ohio History. (You can find articles about Grant’s Birthplace in Ohio History’s online archive.) In the poem below, one Ohioan honors Grant’s Ohio roots:
“U.S. Grant” (A Poem)
On the banks of the Ohio,
In a humble little cot,
He was born -our nation's hero;
But the busy world recked not.
None came by to do him honor,
Only April breezes sweet
From the peach and apple orchards
Scattered petals at his feet.
There the little new-born baby
Grew and stretched each sturdy limb;
And the beautiful Ohio
Sang a cradle-song for him.
~Bertye Y. Williams, Georgetown’s News Democrat (1922)
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"Grant was himself the supreme example of American opportunity. Standing before his humble birthplace, amid the surroundings of his obscure boyhood life, one doubts if three-quarters of a century ago anyone should have sought here for the military chieftain of a century. […] And yet this little Clermont County furnished in Ulysses S. Grant and Henry C. Corbin two of the thirteen lieutenant generals who have been commissioned in all our history.”
~President Warren G. Harding speaking in Point Pleasant on the 100th Anniversary of Grant’s birth
GeoTrail Information
Launch Party Event: (Click Here)
AFK Geocaching is proud to present, the first phase of the Freedom GeoTrail with the partnership of National Park Service's Network to Freedom Program, Ohio History Connection (Ohio Historical Society), National Underground Railroad Freedom Center and nearly a dozen more historical organizations!
The Freedom GeoTrail will share a small portion of Greater Cincinnati's history involving the Underground Railroad and American Civil War! During the drive along the trail you will experience over 97 miles of history with much of the suggested route along the scenic Ohio River.
Come, learn and explore one of the main hubs of the Underground Railroad and a region that had a huge significance to the American Civil War.
- Did You Know: The launch of this trail marks the 150 years since the end of the American Civil War..
How this GeoTrail works:
- Obtain your Freedom GeoTrail Passport brochure by printing it out (click here). At each of the geocaches you will find a tag with a unique word. Collect these words on your passport! Do not forget to enjoy each location and and don't forget to log your find during all of the excitement!
- What if you can not print it or stumbled upon this trail by accident? No problem! Collect the code words at each location, sign the logs (we will randomly but frequently check) and then when you can print a Trail Passport, do so. If you need us to mail you a Trail Passport, let us know your mailing address!
- Remember, in the future, the Freedom GeoTrail will grow and have more locations added! However, to complete this portion of the trail the objective will not change.
Freedom GeoTrail Locations
FGT National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (GC5T08R)
FGT Spring Grove Cemetery (GC5T08W)
FGT Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Cincinnati (GC5T090)
FGT Camp Dennison Civil War Museum (GC5T095)
FGT Historic New Richmond Ohio (GC5T09A)
FGT Ulysses S. Grant Birthplace (GC5T09D)
FGT John P. Parker House (GC5T09G)
FGT Rankin House (GC5T09M)
FGT Ulysses S. Grant Schoolhouse (GC5T09Q)
FGT Ulysses S. Grant Boyhood Home (GC5T09T)
Geocoin
We are pleased to offer a 3D sculpted, 2.5" massive work of art Geocoin by the renowned Christian Mackey.. The trail's GeoCoin is available after completion of the GeoTrail. Full details available at the website, link available from the Launch Party Event: (Click Here).
- Trail GeoCoin: A classic antique gold finish with beautiful red and blue highlights.
- Gift-shop Edition GeoCoin: Post event rendition of the limited event coin to help complete any cacher's collection for a Gold/Silver mix! The classic antique silver finish but without any color highlights. This coin will only be available thought participating locations.
- Event GeoCoin / Advance Sale GeoCoin / Volunteer Edition GeoCoin: Only available for a limited time, exact quantities minted, no extras.
*The trail's GeoCoin is available for purchase after completion of the GeoTrail. Initial order of coins will be mailed out after the event the launch event. For people completing the trail after the launch, there will be coins available at the Clermont County Convention and Visitor's Bureau.
**If coin supply runs out for the Trail coin, we will take back orders then coins will be mailed once they arrive.
***ALL GeoCoins will come with an official Adventure Cards, Copy Card! This is an all weather trading card designed for Geocachers with an illustration of the coin and your GC Tracking code. Hold onto your coin and send your Copy Card out to be discovered!
Contact Us
You might need to contact us if there is a situation that you run into on the trail. Remember we stay busy but will always try to take any calls or text messages. To call or text us: 513-235-2436. (You can also message us though the Geocaching website.)
You may also need to mail us your trail completion slips. (Warning: We will randomly check signatures on log papers.) You may mail us at:
AFK Geocaching. PO Box 43272. Cincinnati, OH. 45243
Accommodation
Lodging and accommodation information is available on the website, link available from the Launch Party Event: (Click Here)
Special Thanks
A special thanks goes out to the Clermont County Convention and Visitor's Bureau whom without their main sponsorship this trail may not have happened!
