John Calvin Coolidge Junior served as the thirtieth president of the United States; and he was born exactly 154 years ago today, Saturday, July 4, 2026 in Plymouth Notch in Vermont, where the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site is currently located.
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site in Plymouth Notch in Vermont
Calvin Coolidge was vice president of the United States when he took the presidential oath of office in the parlor of his family home at 2:47 in the morning on Friday, August 3, 1923 by the light of a kerosene lamp following the unexpected death of Warren G. Harding, who was president of the United States at the time. His father — John Calvin Coolidge Senior, who was a notary public — administered the presidential oath. As a result of the preservation and restoration of the childhood home of Calvin Coolidge and the historic village, they appear much as it did during his lifetime. The Coolidge Homestead is furnished exactly as it was when Calvin Coolidge took the oath of office.
Embossed on the green historic marker are the words:
CALVIN COOLIDGE
1872-1933
Born July 4, 1872 in a house back of store, Calvin Coolidge from 4 years of age lived in the Homestead across the road, now owned by the State of Vermont. Here on Aug. 3, 1923 he was inaugurated President and here he spent many vacations.
In the Notch Cemetery he rests beside his wife & son and 4 generations of forebears.
“The homes of the Coolidge family, their relatives, and friends edge the small village green, joined by the 1840 church, 1890 school house and cheese factory, pre-1835 store with post office and dance hall, and historic agricultural structures and barns”, according to the official Internet web site of the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. “The bucolic image is completed by the 1924 Summer White House office and the tourists’ cabins constructed in 1927 for the first of many visitors making the pilgrimage to explore the rural environs that shaped Coolidge’s life and those of his ancestors who first settled here in the 1780s. A Museum & Education Center, added in 1972 and enlarged in 2010, houses the exhibits and archives recounting Calvin Coolidge’s private and public lives. Visitors to the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site will also enjoy two museum stores, walking trails, and sheltered picnic area. A journey to the Notch ends at the steep hillside cemetery where Calvin Coolidge rests amongst seven generations of his family.”
The vision of the creation of the historic site begun just a month after the death of the former president on Thursday, January 5, 1933 at 60 years of age.
Final Boarding Call
I am not a person who is interested in quotes; but one of my favorite quotes is attributed to Calvin Coolidge:
“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On!’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”
When Calvin Coolidge decided to not run for president of the United States again in 1928, he reportedly remarked that ten years as president would be “longer than any other man has had it — too long!”
Here is an interesting bit of trivia: Calvin Coolidge was the only president of the United States who was born on the fourth of July; but three of the five Founding Father presidents of the United States died on the fourth of July:
- Thomas Jefferson — who was the third president of the United States — died at 83 years of age on Tuesday, July 4, 1826, which was exactly 50 years since the adoption of the Declaration of Independence.
- John Adams — who was the second president of the United States — also died on Tuesday, July 4, 1826 at 90 years of age only hours after Thomas Jefferson.
- James Monroe — who was the fifth president of the United States — died at 73 years of age exactly five years later on Monday, July 4, 1831.
The site was still closed for the season when I unexpectedly visited it earlier this year; but I was able to walk the grounds on that gloomy rainy morning. Note that some of the roads are public roads with active traffic; so look both ways before crossing any of the streets.
President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site
3780 Route 100A
Plymouth, Vermont 05056
1-802-672-1195
E-mail address: rejoice.scherry@vermont.gov
Dates and Hours of Operations 2026
Open from 10:00 in the morning through 5:00 in the afternoon on the following dates:
- May 22, 2026 through September 20, 2026 — Tuesday through Sunday
- September 21, 2026 through October 25, 2026 — Seven days per week
Admission Fees
Adults 17 years of age and older: $12.00
Children from 6 years of age to 16 years of age: $4.00
Children younger than 6 years of age: Free
Group Rate of a minimum of ten visitors: $10.00 per person
Admission is free today only, Saturday, July 4, 2026.
Free parking is available on site.
All photographs ©2026 by Brian Cohen.
