NILES Exhibit pays tribute to Ohio presidents

A scaled-down version of the traveling exhibit opens today.
By SHERRI L. SHAULIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
NILES -- Aside from providing eight of its native sons to serve in the nation's highest office, Ohio has made other significant contributions to presidential politics.
"State of Eight: A Bicentennial Tribute to Ohio's Presidential Legacy" is a traveling exhibit examining the role of the Buckeye State in the nation's leadership.
The exhibit opened today in the McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center on South Main Street and runs through August.
The McKinley Home is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays and holidays, including today.
There is no admission cost for either the McKinley Home or the "State of Eight" exhibit.
Who they are
The eight Ohio men who've served as president of the United States are William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, William McKinley, William H. Taft and Warren G. Harding.
"There are 26 panels in the exhibit that have information on several items, including the eight presidents from Ohio, their wives, the conventions and so on," said Linda McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the McKinley Memorial Library.
"There are a lot of pictures and writeups, and there are informational brochures, too."
Two versions of the exhibit, created by the staff of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, are traveling the state to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Ohio.
Funding
The project is funded by the Ohio Bicentennial Commission, which oversees many special events for the state's birthday. Additional funding was provided by the Whirlpool Foundation and the Walter E. Terhune Memorial Fund.
A scaled-down version of the exhibit will tour the local McKinley Home, while a larger exhibit with three-dimensional artifacts and historic documents will tour three presidential sites: The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, the McKinley Museum & amp; National Memorial in Canton and the William Howard Taft National Historic Site in Cincinnati.
McGinnis said representatives from the Hayes center called library Director Patrick E. Finan about hosting the exhibit locally.
"He thought it would be a good reason to get people into the house," she said.
The "State of Eight" exhibit is displayed in the downstairs research center in the house.
The McKinley Birthplace houses an exhibit upstairs featuring items from the Spanish-American War, McGinnis said, which took place while McKinley was in office.
She said plans are to routinely change the exhibit to help entice local residents to become frequent visitors.
For information on the McKinley Birthplace or the "State of Eight" exhibit, call the library at (330) 652-1704.
slshaulis@vindy.com