How Do You Tour James Buchanans Wheatland?
James Buchanan, the fifteenth President of the United States, the only one who never married, governed the nation from 1857 to 1861–the troubled years immediately preceding the Civil War. He purchased Wheatland, his farm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in 1849, and retired there after his Presidency. After Buchanan’s death in 1868, the property passed through several private hands and was finally opened to the public in the 1930s. Start your tour at the President’s Shop and Visitor Center, where you’ll get your tickets and an orientation to the life and work of James Buchanan. Go on to the main house and enter through the front door. The first floor halls are T-shaped, with a central entrance hall furnished with Empire-style pieces and a back cross hall with a staircase. To the left is the parlor, the most formal room in the house, where Buchanan’s niece and hostess,Harriet Lane, received guests. The room is furnished with Rococo Revival pieces, a grand piano and portraits of Queen Victor
