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 1 of a 5 part series on these amazing statues and includes the US Presidential Statues 1789-1841. I hope you enjoy the series as much as I enjoyed learning a lot of history while doing research.
US Presidential Statues 1789-1841 include former presidents:
- George Washington
- John Adams
- Thomas Jefferson
- James Madison
- James Monroe
- John Quincy Adams
- Andrew Jackson
- Martin Van Buren
- William Harrison
George Washington
First President
Date of Birth – February 22, 1732
Birthplace – Pope’s Creek, Virginia
Education – The equivalent of an elementary school education
Career – Soldier, Planter
Political Party – Federalist
Nickname – “Father of His Country”
Date of Inauguration – April 30, 1789
Date Ended – March 4, 1797
Date of Death – December 14, 1799
Burial Place – Family vault, Mount Vernon, Virginia
Quote – “The basis of our political system is the right of the people to make and to alter their constitutions of government.”
John Adams
Second President
Date of Birth – October 30, 1735
Birthplace North Precinct of Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts
Education – Harvard College (graduated 1755)
Career – Lawyer
Political party Federalist
Nickname – “Atlas of Independence”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1797
Date Ended – March 4, 1801
Date of Death- July 4, 1826
Burial place – Quincy, Massachusetts
Quote – “In charity to all mankind, bearing no malice or ill will to any human being, and even compassionating those who hold in bondage their fellow-men, not knowing what they do.”
Thomas Jefferson
Third President
Date of Birth – April 13, 1743
Birthplace – Shadwell plantation, Goochland County, Virginia
Education – College of William and Mary (graduated 1762)
Career – Lawyer, Planter
Political Party – Democratic-Republican
Nickname – “Man of the People,” “Sage of Monticello”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1801
Date Ended – March 4, 1809
Date of Death – July 4, 1826
Burial Place – Monticello, near Charlottesville, Virginia
Quote – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
James Madison
Fourth President
Date of Birth – March 16, 1751
Birthplace – Port Conway, Virginia
Education – College of New Jersey (now Princeton University, graduated 1771)
Career – Politician, Planter
Political Party – Democratic-Republican
Nickname – “Father of the Constitution”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1809
Date Ended – March 4, 1817
Date of Death – June 28, 1836
Burial Place – Montpelier, Orange County, Virginia
Quote – “Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. Liberty may be endangered by the abuse of liberty, but also by the abuse of power.”
James Monroe
Fifth President
Date of Birth – April 28, 1758
Birthplace – Westmoreland County, Virginia
Education – College of William and Mary (graduated 1776)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Democratic-Republican
Nickname – “The Last Cocked Hat,” “Era-of-Good-Feelings President”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1817
Date Ended – March 4, 1825
Date of Death – July 4, 1831
Burial Place – New York City, New York
Quote – “If it was wise, manly, and patriotic for us to establish a free government, it is equally wise to attend to the necessary means of its preservation.”
John Quincy Adams
Sixth President
Date of Birth – July 11, 1767
Birthplace – Braintree (now Quincy), Massachusetts
Education – Harvard College (graduated 1787)
Career – Lawyer, Senator, Diplomat
Political Party – Federalist, Democratic-Republican, Whig
Nickname – “Old Man Eloquent”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1825
Date Ended – March 4, 1829
Date of Death – February 23, 1848
Burial Place – First Unitarian Church, Quincy, Massachusetts
Quote – “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
Andrew Jackson
Seventh President
Date of Birth – March 15, 1767
Birthplace – Waxhaw area, on the North Carolina-South Carolina border
Education –
Career – Lawyer, Soldier
Political Party – Democrat
Nickname – “Old Hickory”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1829
Date Ended – March 4, 1837
Date of Death – June 8, 1845
Burial Place – The Hermitage, Nashville, Tennessee
Quote – “All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.”
Martin Van Buren
Eighth President
Date of Birth – December 5, 1782
Birthplace -Kinderhook, New York
Education – Kinderhook Academy (graduated 1796)
Career – Lawyer
Political Party – Democrat
Nickname – “The Little Magician,” “The Red Fox of Kinderhook”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1837
Date Ended – March 4, 1841
Date of Death – July 24, 1862
Burial Place – Kinderhook Cemetery, Kinderhook, New York
Quote – “As to the presidency, the two happiest days of my life were those of my entrance upon the office and my surrender of it.”
William Harrison
Ninth President
Date of Birth – February 9, 1773
Birthplace – Berkeley plantation, Charles City County, Virginia
Education – Hampden-Sydney College
Career – Soldier
Political Party – Whig
Nickname – “Old Tippecanoe”; “Old Tip”
Date of Inauguration – March 4, 1841
Date Ended – April 4, 1841
Date of Death – April 4, 1841
Burial Place – William Henry Harrison Memorial State Park, North Bend, Ohio
Quote – “The people are the best guardians of their own rights and it is the duty of their executive to abstain from interfering in or thwarting the sacred exercise of the lawmaking functions of their government.”
Presidential Statues 1789-1841
We had a great time checking out the Presidential Statues 1789-1841 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 in this series.
US Presidential Statues 1841-1877
US Presidential Statues 1877-1913
US Presidential Statues 1913-1969
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When the kids were young, we took them to see Mt. Rushmore. But I haven’t heard about the Presidential Statues. Sounds like a trip for our grands! Love the part about the gloves.
City of Presidents seem like a good idea to preserve history .It’s quite a task to make this possible though.Its great that you are trying to help spread the word about our.
What an interesting post for the 4th of July! Thanks for taking me along on the virual tour.
I’ve never been to that part of the country, but I love sightseeing and learning more about history. I never heard of the City of Presidents in Rapid City, but if I get out that way, I’ll be sure to check it out. What was one of your favorite parts of this tour?
Can you believe it, we visited Mt Rushmore, but we had not known about the City of Presidents 🙁
Note to self: Need to go back to Rapid City!
Thank you for sharing!
Tamara, we didn’t know about it the first time we visited either. It’s funny that they are there but so many people don’t know about them that don’t live in the area. Glad to share the info and hope more can check them out on a future visit. 🙂 Thanks for the message.
PS: I love that George Washington is standing in front of Starbucks. Makes me want to buy him a coffee!
Yeah, I have to wonder what he would think of Starbucks, lol