Calvin Coolidge and Plymouth Notch: the president sworn in by lamplight
Photo: Dougtone, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
John Calvin Coolidge Jr. was born on July 4, 1872, in a small house attached to his father’s general store in Plymouth Notch, a hill village in Windsor County. His father, John Coolidge, was a storekeeper, farmer and local officeholder.
Coolidge went to Black River Academy in Ludlow and then Amherst College in Massachusetts, where he stayed to practice law in Northampton. His political career was Massachusetts-based: mayor of Northampton, state senator, lieutenant governor and governor. His handling of the 1919 Boston police strike made him a national figure, and he was elected vice president with Warren G. Harding in 1920.
The oath at the farmhouse
In August 1923, Coolidge was visiting his father in Plymouth Notch when word came, late at night, that Harding had died. At 2:47 a.m. on Aug. 3, by the light of a kerosene lamp, John Coolidge, a notary public, administered the oath of office to his son in the family sitting room. It is the only time a president has been sworn in by his father.
Coolidge was elected in his own right in 1924. He was known for his small-government views, his support for business and his reputation for few words. He declined to run again in 1928.
The historic site
Coolidge is buried in the Plymouth Notch cemetery. The village, including his birthplace, the homestead where he took the oath, the general store and the cheese factory his father helped start, is preserved as the President Calvin Coolidge State Historic Site. The Plymouth Artisan Cheese factory there still makes cheddar.
The site is open seasonally and is one of the more complete presidential home sites in the country.
