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- Some presidents like John F. Kennedy were born to wealthy families with large estates.
- Others came from working-class families who lived in small cabins or on farms.
- President Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-bedroom log cabin on the Kentucky frontier.
Unlike the Kennedys and Roosevelts of the world, some presidents' journeys to Washington began in surprisingly humble homes, cottages, or log cabins.
In fact, President Joe Biden found the transition to the White House so jarring in comparison to his upbringing that he likened it to a "gilded cage."
From Georgia farmlands to the island of O'ahu, here's a look at 17 presidents' modest beginnings.
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In the summer months, John Adams' father, Deacon, would till the 6 acres of land his humble cottage was situated on, according to the National Park Service, which overseas the Adams National Historical Park. During the winter he practiced cordwaining, a form of leather shoe making.
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The cabin is in surprisingly good shape for being built sometime during the 1700s. It was moved from Buchanan's birthplace of Stony Batter in Cove Gap (which is now a state park), Pennsylvania, to the Mercersburg Academy in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania.
North Carolina Historic Sites
The 150-acre farm in North Carolina where Polk was born in 1795 now features vintage 1800s log buildings — including a cabin, a barn, and a kitchen — and furnishings similar to the buildings original to the property, according to according to North Carolina Historic Sites' website.
Polk lived on the property until he left for Tenessee at age 11. He would later return to North Carolina to attend college at the University of North Carolina.
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Fillmore, who was born in 1800, was one of eight children, and his parents were farmers.
Though the birthplace of the 13th US president is no longer standing, a plaque and picnic tables now commemorate the location.
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Lincoln was born in 1809 in a small log cabin on his father's Sinking Spring Farm near Louisville, Kentucky. Lincoln's family lived at the cabin until he was 2 and a 1/2, according to the National Park Service. His father, a carpenter and farmer, then moved the family to another farm 10 miles away.
The original cabin is no longer standing but a replica, pictured, is on display at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park.
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Grant's family paid $2 a month to live in this cottage for just under a year until his father, Jesse Grant, who was a tanner, saved enough money to build a tannery in the nearby town of Georgetown, Ohio.
The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a historic house museum operated under the Ohio Historical Society. The inside is furnished with items that once belonged to Grant.
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The original cabin in Moreland Hills, Ohio, where James Garfield — the youngest of five children — was born in 1831 no longer stands. But a replica cabin, a statue, and a plaque commemorate his birth.
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The original structure burned down in 1937, but it was recreated at the McKinley Birthplace Home and Research Center in Niles, Ohio.
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Hoover was born in this small cottage in 1874. The National Park Service reported that one of the rooms was used as a bedroom for Hoover, his parents, his older brother and, after her birth, his younger sister. The second room was a living and kitchen area. The family later moved to a two-story house.
Hoover later said, "This cottage where I was born is physical proof of the unbounded opportunity of American life."
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Free tours are available of this Missouri State Historical Site where President Harry S. Truman was born. Inside, furnishings from the period show what life was like when Truman was growing up in the late 1800s.
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The home where Johnson was born and spent his childhood was constructed in 1889 by his grandfather Samuel Ealy Johnson, Sr., reported the National Park Service.
In 1964, LBJ hired the architect J. Roy White of Austin, Texas, to reconstruct his birth home for people interested in learning more about his heritage. According to the NPS, Johnson's birthplace home "has the distinction of being the only presidential birthplace reconstructed, refurbished, and interpreted by an incumbent President."
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Johnson lived in his boyhood home from the age of 5 until he graduated high school in 1924. Both his birthplace and boyhood homes are part of a National Historic Park.
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Though Ronald Reagan only lived in the apartment for four months after his birth, the bank is now a gift shop for the Reagan Museum.
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Nixon's father built the home on his citrus farm using a kit, a popular housing method in the early 20th century, according to the National Park Service. Nixon would spend the first nine years of his life here before moving to Whittier, California.
Although ownership of the home changed over time, it was restored prior to the opening of Nixon's Library in 1990 and is now a National Historic Landmark open to visitors.
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Carter's family moved to this farm when he was 4 years old. He helped his father, Earl, raise cotton, corn, peanuts, and sugar cane, all of which they sold alongside other items including coffee and kerosene at a country store near their house.
The National Park Service quotes Carter as saying, "The early years of my life on the farm were full and enjoyable, isolated but not lonely. We always had enough to eat, no economic hardship, but no money to waste. We felt close to nature, close to members of our family, and close to God."
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While it's not the most humble of houses on this list, it's still less glamorous than many other former presidents' childhood homes.
Biden lived in the three-story house at 2446 N. Washington Ave. until the age of 10 with his maternal grandparents, the Finnegans, who owned the house, The New York Times reported.
The Bidens left Scranton because of a weakening job market. After commuting to his job as a boiler cleaner for a heating and cooling company in Wilmington, Delaware, for some time, Joe Biden Sr. moved the family to an apartment in Claymont, Delaware, in 1953.
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George W. Bush, pictured at the home in 2008, was born in 1946.
Though it started out simple, the George W. Bush Childhood Home now includes a 4,000-square-foot visitor center and exhibition gallery, as well as a neighboring home that has been turned into administrative offices, a temporary education center, and a gift shop.
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Obama and his mother rented the home for three years in the 1960s, starting when he was 3, while she attended the nearby University of Hawai'i at Mānoa.
The three-bedroom home was listed for $2 million in 2020. It previously sold for $1.3 million in 2006, according to Forbes.
