• presidents,  Virginia

    William Howard Taft Burial Place in Arlington, Va.

    Following his defeat for re-election in 1912, William Howard Taft and sought the opportunity to practice law.  He ended up becoming the Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School.  Taft held the academic position until 1921 when he was appointed chief justice of the Supreme Court, which made him the first person to serve as both president and chief justice.  He served as chief justice until 1930 when he retired because of his poor health.  On March 8, 1930, Taft died from cardiovascular disease.  He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, thus becoming a first president buried at the cemetery.

  • presidents,  Virginia

    George Washington Burial Place in Mount Vernon, Va.

    The estate that is George Washington’s final resting place sits along the Potomac River near Alexandria, Va.  However, Washington did not purchase the property, but inherited it in 1754 and did not become the sole owner until 1761.  Mount Vernon is closely linked to Washington because it served as his country home for the majority of his life.  Following his death, the property fell into disrepair, but was saved from demolition when The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association purchased the property in 1858 and eventually restored the mansion to its previous grandeur.  In 1960, the Palladian-style mansion became a National Historic Landmark. Immediately following his death, Washington was interred on the…

  • presidents,  Virginia

    William Henry Harrison Birthplace in Charles City County, Va.

    On the banks of the James River, a group of 38 English settlers arrived at Berkeley Hundred on Dec. 4, 1619.  The 8,000-acre site later became known as Berkeley Plantation and eventually the home of the Harrison family.  In 1726, Benjamin Harrison IV built a Georgia-style three-story brick mansion overlooking the river.  On Feb. 9, 1773, William Henry Harrison, the youngest child of Benjamin V and Elizabeth Bassett Harrison, was born at the house. In the early 1900s, Malcolm and Grace Jamieson bought the house from his father John and restored the home.  They ultimately opened the house to the public.  In 1971, the home became a National Historic Landmark.

  • presidents,  Virginia

    John F. Kennedy Burial Place in Arlington, Va.

    Following his assassination in Dallas, the body of John F. Kennedy was flown back to Washington, D.C.  He laid in repose in the White House’s East Room for twenty-four hours.  Kennedy later laid in state in the Capitol rotunda before a horse-drawn caisson took his casket to Arlington National Cemetery where he was interred just below Arlington House on Nov. 25, 1963. Kennedy’s friend and architect John Carl Warnecke designed the grave site, which Jacqueline Kennedy stipulated must include an eternal flame.  After several years of design work and construction, the grave site was dedicated and opened to the public on March 15, 1967.