From Andrew Jackson to George H.W. Bush, Lynchburg played host

From Staff Reports
Published: August 19, 2008

With his campaign stop today in Lynchburg, Barack Obama joins more than a dozen other presidential contenders, former and future presidents and sitting presidents who have drawn a crowd in the Hill City.

Here’s a look at many of those visits through the years, drawn from The News & Advance archives and with help from Doug Harvey, director of the Lynchburg Museum System.

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- Andrew Jackson and Thomas Jefferson: Jackson (1829-1837) came here in November 1815 and he and Jefferson (1801-1809) were escorted through town by the militia. Events included a feast for 300 with a 20-piece band, and 29 toasts were given.

- During the Battle of Lynchburg in June 1864, two future presidents were here as Union generals: William McKinley (1897-1901) and Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881). They met with General Hunter, commanding Union forces, at Sandusky House. Hayes returned as president in 1877, according to the Lynchburg Daily Virginian, and spoke at the train depot.

- Andrew Johnson: In April 1861, just after Fort Sumter had been bombarded, Senator Johnson (1865-1869) came through Lynchburg on his way home to Tennessee. When his train stopped here, a crowd boarded and “a certain newspaperman” walked up to him and pulled his nose, a serious insult in that day. Johnson pulled out a pistol and members of the crowd started yelling that they should hang Johnson, but cooler heads prevailed and the train left without bloodshed.

When Johnson came to Lynchburg in 1869 after finishing his term as president, the city welcomed him with a cheering crowd, a carriage drawn by four horses, and a lavish banquet in his honor.

- Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) came here in 1891 while he was president and made a brief stop at Union Station.

- Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) also made a whistle stop in town while on the way home from a hunting trip in 1907.

- Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921) made brief remarks from the rear of his train in 1913 while returning to Washington.

- The funeral train of Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) came through on April 14, 1945, carrying his body from Warm Springs, Ga., to Washington. A crowd of several hundred gathered at Kemper Street Station at 4 a.m. to see it slowly pass by.

- Dwight Eisenhower (1953-1961) made a campaign train stop with brief remarks here in 1952 during his bid for the presidency.

- Ronald Reagan (1981-1989) visited in 1957 and spoke at Monument Terrace. He also visited the Warner Theater, where one of his movies was playing, and spoke to about 1,000 people at E.C. Glass. He returned in 1980 and spoke alongside Jerry Falwell at Liberty Baptist College while running for his first term as president.

- John F. Kennedy (1960-1963) visited the city in 1957, when he was a senator. He met with the Chamber of Commerce and then spoke at E.C. Glass.

- Lyndon B. Johnson (1963-1969), as a vice presidential candidate, made a campaign stop at the Kemper Street Station in 1960 with his wife Lady Bird.

- Former president Gerald Ford (1974-1977) held two forums and a news conference at then Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in 1982.

- George H.W. Bush (1989-1993) spoke at the Liberty University graduation in 1990; he also spoke in 1983, while vice president, at Liberty Baptist College.