Presidents' Spouses Shape a New ‘National Historic First Ladies Trail’
The National First Ladies Day Commission unveils a public history endeavor showcasing first ladies from birth to burial and places in between.
For the past 20 years, the small town of Marshfield in southwest Missouri has been the home to the Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival, known for celebrating American history and pop culture. The festival and its organizers, though, have paid particular homage to America’s presidential first ladies. In fact, the town has hosted several sitting and former first ladies in its history, of whom the most recent was former First Lady Laura Bush.
The festival, according to founder Nicholas Inman, was inspired by his time in Washington, D.C., while working an internship when he had the opportunity to take in the beauty of the 3,000 blooming cherry trees planted there as a gift from Japan in 1912 that was orchestrated by former First Lady Helen Taft. It’s an experience Inman later duplicated in his hometown in 2004 when he organized the first planting of cherry trees.
So, it no surprise that Marshfield is among the first of dozens of sites being spotlighted on a new public history endeavor by the National First Ladies Day Commission (NFDLC) called the “National Historic First Ladies Trail” that showcases a growing assemblage of birthplaces, burial sites, historic sites, presidential libraries, museums, and notable locations where first ladies were known to spend time.
“We really wanted to honor first ladies,” Massee McKinley, the co-chair of the NFLDC and great-great nephew of the 25th United States President William McKinley and former First Lady Ida McKinley, tells East Wing Magazine in an interview Tuesday. He added that locations on the historic “trail” will be marked with specially designed signs that feature QR codes linking visitors to the National First Ladies Day Commission website, where other sites are listed.
In Marshfield, for example, visitors learn First Lady Bess Truman visited the town several times as a Senator’s wife and later during Harry Truman’s whistlestop visit on September 29, 1948. Former First Lady Frances Cleveland Preston (1886-1889) also came to Marshfield. Mamie Eisenhower enjoyed lunch in Marshfield with her sister, Mabel Frances “Mike” Doud in the 1970’s on a cross-country trip to Abilene, Kansas. It is said that she loved the apple dumplings.
On July 4, 1991, then First Lady Barbara Bush attended the Marshfield Independence Day Parade. She walked alongside her husband, President George H.W. Bush, the grand marshal. In 2014, former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at the Marshfield Community Center during the 9th annual Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival.
The new logo for the trail was unveiled at the 20th Missouri Cherry Blossom Festival celebrated in April during a private brunch hosted by Mary Jean Eisenhower (youngest granddaughter of Mamie Eisenhower), according to Inman. The brunch was attended by the members of the National First Ladies Day Commission, numerous presidential and first lady descendants and Jean Becker, a former staff member of Barbara Bush.
Eventually, all of the locations listed on the website will link to first lady history about the site. Visitors to the sites will recognize that they are on the National Historic First Ladies Trail when they see the sign on display, says Andrew Och, a member of the NFLDC and designer of the trail sign.
In fact, the spirit of the trail was inspired by Och’s own historical journey in 2012 when he traveled throughout the United States as a producer filming the C-SPAN and White House Historical Association series First Ladies: Influence And Image highlighting first ladies from Martha Washington to Michelle Obama that aired in 2013. The experience gave him an all-access pass to some of the nation’s most treasured collections and historical landmarks, which led him to writing about his road trip and first ladies history in a two-volume book series called Unusual for Their Time: On the Road With America’s First Ladies Volume I and Volume II where he includes his route and stories collected about first ladies along the way.
The National Historic First Ladies Trail, like the series produced and the books written by Och, and the work of the NFLDC, are meant to shift the spotlight, which has typically been on the presidents’ legacies, to the contributions of first ladies.
“Most of what people see about presidential history is focused solely around the presidents. The first ladies kind of get a back seat on that,” Massee McKinley says. “And I think it’s quite a shame because there’s so much information about the first ladies.”
“Most of what people see about presidential history is focused solely around the presidents. The first ladies kind of get a back seat on that,” Massee McKinley says. “And I think it’s quite a shame because there’s so much information about the first ladies.”
In speaking specifically about William McKinley, Massee McKinley describes his aunt, Ida McKinley, as a “strong force” in her husband’s life. She came from a wealthy Ohio family while he was from a working class family. William McKinley became an attorney, and later ran for the Ohio governorship and won. But it was his wife, Ida, who encouraged him to run for president, Massee McKinley says.
“I definitely think we needed a trail,” Massee McKinley says, adding that the project continues to develop with locations that are considered “hidden gems.” Many of the unexpected sites, such as the Kong Chow Temple in San Francisco, where Bess Truman visited prior to her husband’s election, are contributions suggested by descendants of presidents and first ladies.
Or, there’s the burial site for former President James K. Polk, (1845-1849) and former First Lady Sarah Polk, who are buried at the Tennessee state capital in Nashville.
“It gets impeccable care,” says Massee McKinley, who recently visited the site that is the second burial site of the former president and former first lady. The commission, which vets the locations, is currently taking suggestions for future sites.
For Och, watching the trail begin to take shape is validation for what he saw with his own eyes while producing the series—a glaring oversight of first ladies’ place in American history. As presidencies have changed hands, these women continued to honor the tradition of presidential spouses by upholding their supportive role as first lady.
“To think that a sign that I had a hand in designing will be in front of all these places across the United States long after I’m here, and that my books are in libraries—and it’s all for a good thing. It’s promoting women’s leadership and promoting all the work that these women have done and don’t get the credit that they deserve for being part of leadership in America and the formation and creation and continuation of America that has shaped the modern world,” Och says. Then, he pauses.
As the silence grew, so did, perhaps, a mutual understanding of what first ladies have known for far too long about how their role in history has been characterized. To that, Och ends with:
“It’s very humbling.”
People interested in having specific sites included on the National Historic First Ladies Trail can contact the nonprofit First Ladies Day Commission by emailing firstladiesday@gmail.com.
Thank you Jennifer for the privilege of chatting with you about our mutual favorite subject—America’s First Ladies. 🇺🇸