Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
Saint Louis Convention➤
The National Park Travelers Club held the 2022 convention in Saint Louis and arranged some excursions to nearby park units. On Friday, I took the club’s bus tour to Ste Genevieve and then to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. We split into two groups, alternating between the ranger tour of White Haven and visiting the museum.
White Haven➤
Julia Dent grew up in White Haven, an 850-acre plantation. Her brother, Frederick, roomed with Ulysses S. Grant at West Point. Ulysses visited Frederick at White Haven when stationed nearby and met Julia, his future bride.
The Grants had four children at White Haven. Ulysses returned after being stationed out west and attempted to farm. After the Civil War and then eight years of Grants presidency, Julia and Ulysses retired to New York since three of their four children were there.
The Grants turned White Haven over to William Henry Vanderbilt in 1881, as payment for a debt after one of Ulysses’ financial partners embezzled his funds. The property changed hands and the farmland was developed. Albert Wenzlick rescued the land around the main house from becoming a Grant-themed amusement park in 1913. He and his descendants maintained the house until 1979. Ten years later, the National Park Service took over White Haven
Location: 7400 Grant Rd, St. Louis, MO
Designation: National Historic Site
Date designated/established: October 2, 1989
Date of my visit: July 15, 2022
If you come out to San Diego, you must visit the U.S. Grant Hotel. Listed on the National Register, it was built by Grant’s son (Ulysses S. Grant Jr.) on property that was purchased by Fannie Grant — the son’s wife. The hotel was named in honor of the president. For a time, it was owned by the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation out of respect for the president’s constructive outreach to the Native American community.
You might have heard of the annual summer convention Comic Con — well, it was first held at the hotel’s foyer. There were a few tables set up with comic books, and Stan Lee (creator of Spider-Man) was the featured guest. One hundred people showed up. (This July, the San Diego Convention Center welcomed over 100,000 visitors and 500 exhibitors to the cultural event.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Grant_Hotel
Cool! Haven’t made it to San Diego yet
Great post about a very interesting park!
Thanks!
So glad they avoided the Grant-themed amusement park! Ugh.
Me too! Sounds awful, lol!
Pingback: Yellowstone National Park: West Thumb - National Parks With T