FAIRFIELD, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont’s own Chester Arthur, the 21st president of the United States, was born in Fairfield on October 5, 1829, but both the date and the location have been the subject of some speculation.
Illinois couple Jim and Melanie Dittus recently stopped by the President Chester Arthur Historic Site, the childhood home of the former president.
“We like visiting historical sights and learning about history and this was on the route today,” Jim Dittus said.
The original structure was home to seven members of the Arthur family — Chester, his four sisters, and their parents.
“This is a rebuild. It was rebuilt in 1953 originally. It was much shackier than this but they lived here,” said Jane Markley with the Vermont Department of Historic Preservation.
Many people speculate where Chester Arthur was actually born. Most evidence suggests that he was born in Fairfield, but the reason why no one knows 100% is that the Arthur family had a unique tradition of burning all of their documents and paperwork after a family member died.
“There’s a display in there that talks about the different stories, if you will, about where he was actually born. Not only one that he was born in Canada, but one that he was born in Ireland,” Dittus said.
Arthur’s mom was Canadian, and his dad was Irish. Markley and other historians say some people tried to use that against him while he ran for president. “When he was running, he was in a bit of a corruption phase. He was doing some theivery from the Republican Party with his associates, so they were trying to make sure he couldn’t get elected,” she said.
Per the rules at the time, whoever lost the election became vice president. So, following President James Garfield’s assassination, the job opened up for Arthur. “When Garfield was initially shot, the guy who shot him was like, ‘Now Chester Arthur can be president,’ and Chester Arthur was like, ‘Hold on, I didn’t ask him to do that,’” Markley said.
Arthur wanted to honor America’s vote and stick to the plans and policies that Garfield had in place, instead of pursuing his own personal agenda. “Given that that was the platform that they had been elected on, it’s very interesting that he was willing to pursue things that maybe weren’t most of his political ideologies,” Dittus said.
The President Chester Arthur Historic Site is open to visitors on weekends through October 12.
