Come visit the Campbell House in late April and early May for a unique opportunity to learn about the history of slavery in St. Louis. This temporary mini exhibit, organized by the National Park Service, Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, will be on display here from April 20th through May 5, 2024.
Join the Campbell House Museum for a lecture by author and Missouri Humanities Staffer, Greg Wolk as he speaks about Ulysses S. Grant. Wolk will present a vivid portrait of the early days of the Civil War and explain how Grant’s experiences in Missouri impacted his rise to immortal fame as a soldier.
Celebrate the bicentennial of the birth of Ulysses S. Grant with an evening reception and tour at the Campbell House Museum, the only house left in St. Louis where the Grants were entertained. Enjoy light refreshments (including Virginia Campbell’s signature Roman Punch) and have your photo taken with U.S. Grant (as portrayed by Stan Prater). Civil War-themed tours of the Museum will be offered.
This event is part of the 9th Annual U.S. Grant Symposium. For more information visit mohumanities.org/grant-symposium
Limited free parking in the Museum lot. Metered street parking available. Event is free. Reservations limited to 35 people.
To reserve your spot please visit: Punch and Pictures: An Evening with Ulysses S. Grant Tickets, Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 5:00 PM | Eventbrite
James’ young collies in Cambridge, MA. The solid brown one on the right is named Guy.
This Friday is Bring Your Dog to Work Day, and although we don’t want our staff’s pooches traipsing through the rose garden, tracking mud through the house and drooling on guests that come to the door, dogs have a long history at Campbell House.
The Campbells loved their dogs, particularly the youngest adult son James. He immortalized them not only in his Jules Lefebvre (pronounced “luh-FEV-ruh”) portrait that hangs in the Library, but he also had pictures taken of them. Lots of pictures. After graduating from Yale University, James attended Harvard from 1886 through 1888 for law school. The picture to the right captured his beloved pair of collies in the driveway of his Cambridge home. (Awwww…)
After he graduated from Harvard, James and his brothers Hugh and Hazlett took an extended trip to Europe. Of course, the pups went along for the ride:
Pups on the balcony in Geneva.….
…standing guard at the doorway to the Hotel Conradi in Italy, and…
…sitting nicely for the camera in an unknown European location.
The Campbells weren’t the only folks in history who were wild about their pooches. A black Newfoundland accompanied Lewis and Clark on their trek west. Captain Meriwether Lewis bought Seaman the pup for $20 in Pittsburgh before the expedition in 1803 while he was waiting for the boats to be completed.
The 1400-pound sculpture of Seaman that sits at Seaman’s Overlook in Washburn, North Dakota. (Seaman is also featured in a statue of Lewis & Clark in St. Louis next to the Eads Bridge!)
Robert’s friend Ulysses S. Grant also owned a Newfoundland named Faithful, and she lived in the White House while Grant was president! (Since the Grant and Campbell families were close friends, the Campbells surely spent some time with Faithful.)
President John F. Kennedy owned several dogs (Charlie, Pushinka, Clipper, Shannon, Wolf, White Tips, Blackie and Streaker), and he was the first president to request that his four-legged friends be allowed to greet him on the lawn when he arrived at the White House in the presidential helicopter.
Do you have a special furry canine friend at home? Grab your pencil, paper, markers and paint and make your very own portrait! After you’re done and show your family, email a picture of it to shelley [at] campbellhousemuseum [dot] org, and we’ll post the submissions on our blog! And you never know.…we may decide to bring Harvey and Violet to work next year.
