The Harding Home

The Harding Home was the residence of Warren G. and Florence Kling DeWolfe Harding for the 30 years of their marriage prior to Harding's election to the U.S. Presidency. The Hardings moved into the home in July 1891, shortly after its construction. The couple married at the foot of the stairs on July 8, 1891. The exterior of the home originally was painted red with dark red trim. The Hardings had the home repainted green with white trim in 1903, the color of the home ever since. The first front porch, which was wooden, was replaced that same year with the large, grand porch we see today.

The Hardings lived in the home full-time from 1891 through 1915, when Harding entered the U.S. Senate. During the next five years, they lived in a home on Wyoming Avenue in Washington D.C and occasionally visited their hometown. In 1920, all eyes turned toward Marion, Ohio, and the Hardings' Mt. Vernon Avenue home when Sen. Harding conducted his famous Front Porch Campaign for the U.S. Presidency.

The museum opened its doors in 1926.

The Harding Memorial Association operated the home until 1978, when financial problems forced it to ask the State of Ohio to take over ownership. Since that time, the Ohio Historical Society has managed the site for the state. This spring, a local management group will manage the site on behalf of the OHS.

About 95 percent of the objects in the Harding Home are original to the Hardings. On guided tours, visitors view the Harding's furniture, decorative arts, clothing, gaslights and other furnishings. The site's collection includes objects from the Hardings' Marion home, Senate home and from their life in the White House.

Also on site in the Press House, which was constructed in 1920 as work space for the newspaper reporters covering the campaign. It now houses a small museum and gift shop.

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