On a road trip in May of 2022, we found ourselves in Rapid City, South Dakota. We had visited Mt. Rushmore on a previous visit but had never checked out what they call the City of Presidents. This is a series of life-sized bronze statues located among the city and streets of downtown Rapid City. According to their site, The City of Presidents project began in 2000 to honor the legacy of the American presidency. Each sculpture is privately funded, and the pattern of placement was chosen to maintain an orderly structure and eliminate any sense of favoritism or political gain. The City of Presidents is part of the Rapid City Historic District Tour. This is part 3 of a 5 part series on these amazing statues and includes US Presidential statues 1877-1913. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed learning a lot about our former Presidents while doing research.
US Presidential Statues 1877-1913 include former presidents:
- Rutherford B. Hayes
- James A. Garfield
- Chester A. Authur
- Grover Cleveland
- Benjamin Harrison
- William McKinley
- Theodore Roosevelt
- William Taft
Rutherford B. Hayes
Nineteenth President
Date of Birth – October 4, 1822
Birthplace – Delaware, Ohio
Education – Kenyon College (graduated 1842), Harvard Law School (graduated 1845)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Republican
Nickname – “Dark-Horse President,” “Rud”
Date of Inauguration – March 5, 1877
Date Ended – March 4, 1881
Date of Death -January 17, 1893
Burial place – Spiegel Grove State Park, Fremont, Ohio
Quote – “Personally I do not resort to force–not even the force of law–to advance moral reforms. I prefer education, argument, persuasion, and above all the influence of example.”
James A. Garfield
Twentieth President
Date of Birth – November 19, 1831
Birthplace – Orange Township, Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Education – Western Reserve Eclectic Institute (now Hiram College), Williams College (graduated 1856)
Career – Teacher, Public Official
Political Party – Republican
Nickname –
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1881
Date Ended –
Date of Death –
Burial place – Lake View Cemetery, Cleveland, Ohio
Quote – “Whoever controls the volume of money in our country is absolute master of all industry and commerce…when you realize that the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.”
Chester Arthur
Twenty-First President
Date of Birth – October 5, 1829
Birthplace – Fairfield, Vermont
Education – Union College (graduated 1848)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Republican
Nickname – “The Gentleman Boss”
Date of Inauguration – September 19, 1881
Date Ended -March 4, 1885
Date of Death – November 18, 1886
Burial place – Albany, New York
Quote – “It is provided by the Constitution that the President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the state of the Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
Grover Cleveland
Twenty-Second President
Date of Birth – March 18, 1837
Birthplace – Caldwell, New Jersey
Education – Some common school; Read law (1855–1859)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Democrat
Nickname – “Big Steve”, “Uncle Jumbo”
Date of Inauguration – March 5, 1888
Date Ended – March 4, 1889
Date of Death -June 24, 1908
Burial place – Princeton, New Jersey
Quote – “The laboring classes constitute the main part of our population. They should be protected in their efforts peaceably to assert their rights when endangered by aggregated capital and all statutes on this subject should recognize the care of the State for honest toil and be framed with a view of improving the condition of the workingman”
Benjamin Harrison
Twenty-Third President
Date of Birth – August 20, 1833
Birthplace – North Bend, Ohio
Education – Miami University (Ohio), graduated 1852
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Republican
Nickname – “Kid Gloves Harrison,” “Little Ben”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1889
Date Ended -March 4, 1893
Date of Death – March 13, 1901
Burial place – Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana
Quote – “There never has been a time in our history when work was so abundant or when wages were as high, whether measured by the currency in which they are paid or by their power to supply the necessaries and comforts of life.”
Grover Cleveland
Twenty-Fourth President
Date of Birth – March 18, 1837
Birthplace – Caldwell, New Jersey
Education – Some common school; Read law (1855–1859)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Democrat
Nickname – “Big Steve”, “Uncle Jumbo”
Date of Inauguration – March 5, 1893
Date Ended – March 4, 1897
Date of Death -June 24, 1908
Burial place – Princeton, New Jersey
Quote – “Loyalty to the principles upon which our Government rests positively demands that the equality before the law which it guarantees to every citizen should be justly and in good faith conceded in all parts of the land.”
William McKinley
Twenty-Fifth President
Date of Birth – January 29, 1843
Birthplace – Niles, Ohio
Education – Allegheny College
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Republican
Nickname – “Idol of Ohio”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1897
Date Ended – September 14, 1901
Date of Death -September 14, 1901
Burial place – Canton, Ohio (adjacent to Westlawn Cemetery)
Quote – “That’s all a man can hope for during his lifetime – to set an example – and when he is dead, to be an inspiration for history.”
Theodore Roosevelt
Twenty-Sixth President
Date of Birth – October 27, 1858
Birthplace – New York, New York
Education – Harvard College (graduated 1880)
Career – Author, Lawyer, Public Official
Political Party – Republican
Nickname – “TR”, “Trust-Buster”, “Teddy”
Date of Inauguration – September 14, 1901
Date Ended – March 4, 1909
Date of Death -January 6, 1919
Burial place – Oyster Bay, New York
Quote – “We need the iron qualities that go with true manhood. We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done.”
William H. Taft
Twenty-Seventh President
Date of Birth – September 15, 1857
Birthplace – Cincinnati, Ohio
Education – Yale College (graduated 1878), Cincinnati Law School (LL.B., 1880)
Career – Lawyer, Public Official
Political Party – Republican
Nickname –
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1909
Date Ended – March 4, 1913
Date of Death – March 8, 1930
Burial place – Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
Quote – “Don’t write to that you can be understood, write so that you can’t be misunderstood.”
US Presidential Statues 1877-1913
We had a great time checking out the US Presidential Statues 1877-1913 while in Rapid City. Here is a link to a map of which presidents are included in the City of Presidents, and on which street corners they can be found. If you are in the area, it is a fun adventure. One thing to note, a server at a restaurant shared that during the winter people will put gloves, hats, scarves, etc on the statues for the homeless people to take and use. I thought that was quite kind of the people of Rapid City. Here are the links to the other posts on this series:
US Presidential Statues 1789-1841
US Presidential Statues 1841-1877
US Presidential Statues 1913-1969
LIKE WHAT YOU ARE READING?
I would love to send you my free travel itinerary cheat sheets and emails when I post new articles! I usually post 2 times a week. Sign up now, receive your free travel sheets, and don’t miss an article. Thanks, Samantha
This post was created using WordPress. Create your own site for FREE!
3 thoughts on “US Presidential Statues 1877-1913 – City of Presidents Tour Rapid City, SD”