Harding St. Augustine vacation album   Save
Warren G. Harding Collection
Description: This album contains photographs taken during President-elect Warren G. Harding's vacation in St. Augustine, Florida, in the month before his 1921 inauguration. The vacation included activities like golfing, boating, and visiting historical landmarks in the city, and was documented by the St. Augustine Elks Lodge, No. 829, with photographs by P.A. Wolfe. Warren Gamaliel Harding (1865-1923) was born in Corsica (now called Blooming Grove), a small town in Morrow County, Ohio. His family moved to Marion, where Harding taught school, briefly studied law, and worked occasionally as a reporter for a local paper before buying the Marion Star in 1884. Harding became popular as a local bandleader at political rallies, and for his skill as an orator. Willing to follow the lead of political bosses, Harding advanced rapidly in Ohio politics, serving as state senator and lieutenant governor. In 1914, Harding was elected to the U. S. Senate. He launched his famous "front porch" 1920 presidential campaign from the porch of his Victorian home in Marion. He won the presidency with sixty percent of the popular vote, promising a "return to normalcy" following the wave of reforms begun during Theodore Roosevelt's administration. St. Augustine is the nation's oldest European-occupied settlement, settled by the Spanish in 1565. It is located along Florida's Atlantic coast, and is home to several historic landmarks that Harding visited including the Hotel Ponce de Leon (now a part of Flagler College), Castillo de San Marcos, the Plaza de la Constitucion, and the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P146_B12_album01
Subjects: Harding, Warren G. (Warren Gamaliel), 1865‐1923; Presidents; Ohio History ‐‐ Presidents and Politics; National monuments
Places: St. Augustine (Florida)