17. The First Ladies National Historic Site is dedicated to all of America’s First Ladies
In 2000 the First Ladies National Historic Site was established in the former home of Ida Saxton McKinley in Canton, Ohio. A second building, formerly the City National Bank built in 1895, was established as an Education and Research center, dedicated to the preservation of the papers and other memorabilia of the wives of America’s presidents. Although the several extant Presidential Libraries contain much of the materials representative of the wives of the respective presidents, including in some cases whole wings dedicated to the purpose, the Canton facility is the only one dedicated to all of America’s First Ladies. The Saxton McKinley home is dedicated to the family that lived there, rather than containing materials relevant to all of the First Ladies, some of which can be found in the Education and Research Center.
Both facilities are administered by the First Ladies Library, which was established in 1996, largely through the efforts of Mary Regula, the wife of an Ohio congressman. The library maintains online courses discussing the various First Ladies and their role within their husband’s administrations. According to the library’s website the lesson plans were prepared by educators from Kent State University in Ohio. The website also has a blog, which as of December 2018 had not been updated for more than two years. It should be noted that most of the correspondence between George and Martha Washington, as well as Thomas and Martha Jefferson, were destroyed by the surviving spouse, a fate which befell many of the papers of the earlier First Ladies. The First Ladies site has struggled to find an audience according to Canton news sites, and beyond the area is not well known.