Hayes Home: Victorian on Display

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we tour the lavish, museum-like home of an American president and his family.

A wide verandah supported by square columns was Hayes’s favorite architectural feature. The home features Victorian architectural designs including a mansard-style roof for maximum pitch and attic storage; an octagonal two-story section; marble lintels over some windows; and decorative chimneys. Two upper-level windows feature a partial architrave, ornamental framing that emphasizes the unique window shapes. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Second only to Virginia, Ohio is the state where the most American presidents resided, including Civil War veteran and 19th president Rutherford B. Hayes. His estate, called Spiegel Grove (or Mirror Grove), is in the small town of Fremont, Ohio. It’s one of seven presidential sites in the midwestern state.

The brick Victorian mansion is surrounded by a 25-acre “park” (originally 125 acres) boasting more than 100 species of trees, numerous varieties of flowers, a rose garden, an arbor, and walking paths. Hayes is said to have walked his property enough times to accumulate six miles daily.