Dead Presidents

Abraham Lincoln’s Burial Site

Lincoln's body has been moved more times than a journeyman infielder through the National League, but with 12 feet of concrete overhead he's not going anywhere these days.

James K Polk

Polk's tomb is easy to overlook because it's behind a prominent memorial to Tennessee's best-known president, Andrew Jackson.

Millard Fillmore’s Grave

The fact that you can see a funk legend and a US president in the same cemetery is testament to America's greatness.

Zachary Taylor’s Tomb

Everything about the national cemetery named for Zachary Taylor is perfect. Well, everything but one thing.

Franklin Pierce’s Grave

A number of presidents are considered failures; Franklin Pierce is one of them. But he had a pretty good excuse: everyone in his life was dying around him.

John Tyler’s Grave

When the pro-Confederate Tyler died, the US government issued no acknowledgement of his passing - in effect saying "you're dead to us." Which he was.

William Henry Harrison’s Tomb

It would be easy to chalk William Henry Harrison's career up to the Battle of Tippecanoe and an inability to put a coat on in the snow. His tomb gives much better context.

Andrew Jackson’s Grave

General Jackson may have died in 1845, but I still advice approaching his tomb with caution.

John Quincy Adams’s Tomb

Papa John is right inside the door, where as the younger Adams is a bit more tucked away - but only a bit, as this is, shall we say, an "efficiency" crypt.

Martin Van Buren’s Grave

The grave is like a reverse mullet; the business, in this case, is in the back and the party is in the front. Or something.
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The James A. Garfield Assassination Spot Is Right About Here

Three presidential assassination spots are clearly marked. The fourth isn't marked at all - but I may have found it.

James Buchanan Memorial

"Buchanan was a great president too," said absolutely no one - so why does he have a memorial?

Dwight Eisenhower’s Tomb

The Eisenhower Library campus includes a church-shaped building called the Place of Meditation. The name of the building isn't figurative: there's an actual chapel inside the Eisenhower tomb.

Gerald Ford’s Tomb

As a president who was known for his openness and candor, it should be no surprise that Gerald Ford's gravesite is out front next to the Ford Presidential Museum in Grand Rapids.

John Adams’ Tomb

It doesn't smell in this basement crypt, but even if it did, there are two presidents and two first ladies in there. A room like that could smell if it wanted to.