The town of Plymouth is located in central Vermont, a bit towards the south part of the state. Its populated area mostly consists of two small hamlets: Plymouth Union and Plymouth Notch. Plymouth Notch is known as the birthplace, inauguration place, and final resting place of United States president Calvin Coolidge. The entire hamlet has been preserved in its 1920 state in honour of President Coolidge.

Plymouth Notch and President Coolidge

John Calvin Coolidge (better known as Calvin Coolidge) was born in Plymouth Notch in 1872. Like many Vermonters before and since, he left Vermont to get a job, in his case practising law in Boston. He was elected Governor of Massachusetts as a Republican, and attained national prominence when he dealt with a police strike. He was invited to be Warren G Harding's running mate, and was elected Vice-President of the US in 1920.

When President Harding died of a heart attack in 1923, Calvin Coolidge was visiting his father in Plymouth Notch. His father, being a notary public, administered the oath of office on the spot. The senior Coolidge reportedly said afterwards, he didn't know he couldn't.

The Coolidge administration (unlike that of his predecessor) was free of scandal¹. There were also no major foreign policy crises², nor economic crises³. The Coolidge administration's main problem was lawlessness, both Ku Klux Klan and gangster.

Unsurprisingly (given his lack of major crises), Calvin Coolidge was a popular president, and easily won re-election in 1924. He declined to run again in 1928, citing how stressful the office was. Considering he beat the Great Depression out of office by just a few months, one has to admire his timing. Mr Coolidge retired to Plymouth Notch, and died in 1933.

The Coolidge Historic Site

Virtually the entire village of Plymouth Notch has been preserved by the state of Vermont, in a condition similar to that of Coolidge's presidency. Admission to the site was $6 USD at time of writing, and well worth it by the standards of historical sites. However, the site is only open during the summer - late May to mid-October, 9.30am to 5pm, according to the tourist brochures.

The site contains several buildings. Four buildings require admission to get in, but have tour guides; the rest are free. The buildings which are open to the public are:

• A gift shop and visitor's centre, describing the Coolidge family, including his photogenic wife Grace⁴, his sons John and Calvin, his father John Calvin, and three other generations of ancestors all named Calvin. Ticket required.

• A barn filled with period farm machinery, including snow rollers which were used to press snow down for easy horse sleighing in the 1920s. Ticket required.

• The general store, in a back room of which the future President Coolidge was born. Swing dances were held in an open room upstairs. When the President vacationed in Plymouth Notch in 1924, that room was effectively the Summer White House; they strung telephone wire in, and set up tables using sawhorses and boards. Ticket required (for the back rooms only).

• The Coolidge house, where President Coolidge took his oath of office. The latrines are conveniently indoors, but devoid of plumbing, and closed to the public. Ticket required.

• A cheese factory (currently non-functional, though at time of writing they're working on restoring it). Cheese curds were produced there in its heyday. There's now a gift shop, selling cheese (but no curds), mustard, maple syrup, and similar items.

• A church building, with scenic wood panelling within. The Presidential pew (second from the front, by the window) is marked by a full-size American flag. Protestant church services are held there four times a year, the first Sundays in July through October.

• A one-room schoolhouse, on the site where several generations of Coolidges received eight years of schooling apiece.

• A graveyard. President Coolidge and his closest relatives are buried near the front with simple granite markers, but other Coolidges may be found throughout the cemetery. Also in that cemetery is buried the last surviving widow of the American Revolution (so stated by her tombstone); she survived into the 1900s.

• A former tavern, now a coffee shop serving breakfast and lunch (no alcohol). It being a rural American coffee shop, it wouldn't likely be open after 5pm even if the town didn't roll up its sidewalks then.

• Three small cabins, one of which is open to the public. Best described as 'rustic'.

• Administrative offices and a small historical exhibit, in a former teahouse. The offices are only open on weekdays, but remain open all year.

Other Tourism

Opportunities for tourism in Plymouth outside the Historic Site are limited. The other small hamlet in town is Plymouth Union, which consists of about ten houses, a gas station/general store, a bed and breakfast, and no restaurant. Plymouth is also home to Coolidge State Park, in which one may camp, hike, and see a scenic vista that can be described as 'okay'⁵. There's also fishing to be done in local streams and lakes.

More extensive tourism may be done in nearby Ludlow, which is 12 miles south of Plymouth, home to the Okemo Mountain ski resort. One may (of course) ski there in wintertime, and hike during the rest of the year. Ludlow has several hotels, restaurants and taverns, and a museum based out of the Black River school building where Calvin Coolidge went to high school.

Plymouth Notch is also within 20 miles of both Rutland and Quechee Gorge, both of which have numerous hotels and restaurants. The Quechee Gorge area has several tourist opportunities, including a spectacular view of a river valley beneath a dam.