What Could Have Been

What Could Have Been

Being Woodrow Wilson’s date of death, it’s an ideal time to learn what could have been his burial site along with several other of his contemporaries. First, Wilson died at his home from heart failure in Washington, D.C. and he currently rests in the National Cathedral but during the planning phase of his memorial services several options were floated for his eternal slumber: His first wife, Ellen, who passed away in 1914, is buried in Myrtle Hill Cemetery in Rome, Georgia and so this seemed like a natural fit. His birthplace of Staunton, Virginia was offered, but I surmise since he didn’t spend much of his life in Staunton and wasn’t identified with it it was crossed off the list. Burial in Princeton, New Jersey was considered as he was president of Princeton University for several years (had he been buried in Princeton it would have made two presidents who call it their final resting place, joining Grover Cleveland). Another option was burial in Columbia, South Carolina in the family plot, but this, too, was rejected. The Virginia state legislature went as far as adopting a resolution to have his remains interred in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery in President’s Circle next to Presidents Monroe and Tyler. The last option-due in large part to Wilson’s steering the helm during World War I-was Arlington National Cemetery but he rejected the idea. So, when all was said and done, six locations were considered but it was Bethlehem Chapel in the National Cathedral that was chosen making Wilson the only former president to be buried (technically he’s not buried but interred) in Washington, D.C.

Bonus: How many president’s died in Washington, D.C.? -6. In order: William Harrison, John Q. Adams, Zachary Taylor, Abraham Lincoln, Woodrow Wilson, and William Taft. Of these, JQ Adams was the only former president to die in the U.S. Capitol and Harrison and Taylor are the only acting presidents to die in the White House.

Joining Wilson in having multiple burial sites to choose from is Ulysses Grant. Before his death, several locations were considered. West Point Military Academy was briefly considered as he was a graduate; Galena, Illinois was offered as a local cemetery held the family burial plot; and St. Louis, Missouri was suggested as this is where he received his first general’s commission. Ultimately, he chose New York City as it warmly received him and his family and provided him and his family a comfortable existence in his waning years. But this is not where it ended. During the construction of his memorial in New York City, the group in charge of overseeing the project was heavily criticized for mismanagement. Their bungling of the project (they eventually finished the memorial) led U.S. senator Preston Plumb of Kansas to try and have Grant’s remains moved to Arlington National Cemetery but to no avail. In the mid 1990s, a removal was threatened again-this time to Galena, Illinois-due to the National Park Service’s neglect in maintaining Grant’s memorial and allowing it to fall victim to the seedy criminal elements of upper Manhattan’s Riverside Park. But the NPS regained its senses, cleaned up the graffiti, drug needles, prostitutes, and ruffians who frequented the memorial and returned it to a safe and inviting memorial averting the relocation.

William Harrison and his final resting site at Mt. Nebo, Ohio is a beautiful memorial towering over the Ohio River. Prior to the memorial, though, Harrison rested in a pauper’s vault, far from being fit for a president. Scorn was turned towards the Harrison family and there were grumblings about removing his remains to Tippecanoe Battle Ground in Indiana and Cincinnati’s Spring Grove Cemetery. But these potential moves never materialized, and Harrison remained at Mt. Nebo.

Across the Ohio River in Kentucky, Zachary Taylor was also victim of a poorly maintained vault on the outskirts of Louisville in the family cemetery (itself also poorly maintained) that is now Zachary Taylor National Cemetery. Efforts were attempted to have his remains removed to nearby Cave Hill Cemetery and Frankfort’s Frankfort Cemetery to rest near the grave of Daniel Boone. But Taylor was never moved from the family cemetery and now resides in stately vault alongside his wife near the vault he formerly rested in.

George Washington was not safe from possible removal despite being our most revered president. Throughout the 32 year wait to have his remains moved from the Old Vault to the new vault several attempts were made by both the U.S. Congress and Virginia legislature to have his remains removed to the U.S. Capitol and interred inside a specially built crypt just for his remains and Richmond, Virginia.

Abraham Lincoln was not always assured a final rest in Springfield, Illinois. During the planning phase of where he was to be interred, Mary insisted it be in Oak Ridge Cemetery, where he currently resides. However, the planning committee was intent on interring him near the old state Capitol. When Mary heard of their plan and she again insisted on Oak Ridge Cemetery and threatened to have him removed to Washington, D.C., and interred in the Capitol crypt originally intended for Washington. But her threats worked, and Lincoln resides in a beautiful memorial safe from relocation.

Adding to this list of “what could have been” is John Tyler who wrote in his will he wished to be buried on the grounds of his home, Sherwood Plantation in Charles City, Virginia. He currently rests in Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery near James Monroe. And Jimmy Carter stated he could have opted for burial in Arlington National Cemetery but chose to be buried on the grounds of his home in Plains, Georgia.

Taylor's first humble residence at the family cemetery after assuming room temperature.

The final resting site of a former president. It is a far cry from the present memorial.

Harrison's memorial overlooking the Ohio River (to the left of the memorial). Note the low brick structure to the rear of the memorial. This is the vault seen in the above picture.