It was an ordinary day. Scholars have explored many complicated questions about James Buchanan, Pennsylvania's first President. Did he fail to prevent a civil war? And, was Buchanan, a lifelong bachelor or gay? But, a recent talk at LancasterHistory sought to answer another question: What did his yard at Wheatland look like back then? Stephanie Celiberti recently dug into the landscaping side of Wheatland in a sold-out talk hosted by Friends of Tanger Arboretum, a group that works with LancasterHistory to care for and conserve the grounds surrounding Wheatland. As a museum associate at LancasterHistory, Celiberti's spent five years developing programming and tours for Wheatland an managing the site's historic collections. She stitched together the landscaping research through receipts, documents and media reports about Buchanan's gentleman's farm - a place where someone farms for pleasure instead of profit. The property at the corner of what's now Marietta and North President Avenues can be traced back to a 480-acre farm owned by the Hershey family, Celiberti says. In 1848, Buchanan purchased a 22.5 acre parcel with a stately brick home. The $6,750 price adjusted for inflation is $276,660. "For a house of Wheatland's size, 22.5 acres of land and a couple of out-buildings," Celiberti says. "You could never buy that in today's economy for that price, right. So, it's quite a sizable deal for what Buchanan is getting. LancasterHistory now owns about half of Buchanan's property. During his time there, farming was a hobby, not something for income or the main source for the kitchen, Celiberti says. He also embraced the idea of enjoying nature with trees, shrubs and walkways through grass. Around the time Buchanan settled into the White House, Wheatland had a fence along Marietta Avenue with a horseshoe-shaped, tree-lined path leading to the house. We know this thanks to a print Buchanan commissioned and sent to newspapers, an 1857 version of an Architectural Digest "Open Door" video tour. Details emerge in reports from newspaper journalists visiting Buchanan: the entryway, a grassy pasture to the right and a wheat field to the left. In modern times, the short turf grass in front of the house has been replaced with taller fescue grass, a nod to the past. More horticultural clues can be spotted in a window screen painted by Philip Kraus and fitted into Buchanan's rail car as he traveled to his inauguration. Here, there are two tall pine trees framing the front door at Wheatland. Buchanan's favorite place on the property was the frog pond, next to the driveway and Marietta Avenue. In his time, a willow tree sheltered the spring-fed pond. He liked it so much, he once said he wouldn't mind coming back as a frog here after death. Behind Wheatland was a grove of hickory and oak trees visible from the back porch. The backyard also had edible plants in a "large and excellent" garden )as he described in a letter) to add to kitten's produce. Gardeners lived on site and took care of the plants, harvested, weeded, mowed lawns and maintained walls and tools. Edward Bolger, an Irish immigrant, started his work at Wheatland in 1849. He planted a strawberry patch in a space that now has a carriage house. Later, Buchanan wrote about another gardener, Thomas Costello, who tried to leave to start his own farm. Buchanan convinced him to stay a few more years. He was replaced by Charles Smith, who tended to the garden until Buchnan's death in 1868. We know the gardeners' names, yet finding what they painted has been difficult. Celiberti's pieced together the list of plants through newspaper reports and records (such as a receipt for seed potatoes.). Buchanan collected wine and enjoyed Madeira wine and sherry, so it's not a surprise he grew Malaga grapes behind Wheatland, probably around the carriage house parking lot. Another story of Civil War soldier's childhood memories brought a tale of scaling a fence and picking pears from a president. Otherwise, there are plenty of possibilities for crops that filled the garden. Buchanan invited people over for sauerkraut dinner and enjoyed a tomato from time to time, Celiberti says, yet there's no proof cabbages or tomatoes grew at Wheatland. Celiberti's research continues and behind Wheatland, living history grows with potatoes, cabbage and herbs, a mix of plants that were grown and could have grown during Buchanan's time. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. The following art drawing is of Wheatland, the Country Residence of the Hon. James Buchanan, situated near the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
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