Presidential Library - History

History

Before the advent of the Presidential library system, Presidents or their heirs often dispersed Presidential papers at the end of the administration. Though many pre-Hoover collections now reside in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress, others are split among other libraries, historical societies, and private collections. However, many materials have been lost or deliberately destroyed.

Lucretia Rudolph Garfield, the wife of James A. Garfield, President from March 4, 1881 until his death on September 19, 1881, added a Memorial Library wing, four years after his assassination, to their family home, Lawnfield, in Mentor, OH. James A. Garfield NHS is operated by the National Park Service and the Western Reserve Historical Society.

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