Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center

Purpose: Sustaining Cultural Heritage The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center is a national cultural treasure. Since 1916, it has maintained the legacy of Rutherford B. Hayes and the Gilded Age by preserving the 19th president's collections of books, quilts, weapons, political campaign items, and programs. The center also has 95 percent of the original furnishings of the Hayes home. The center is in a unique position to offer interdisciplinary research, educational programs, and interpretive exhibits that deepen the understanding of President Hayes, his administration, and the Gilded Age. Over the 80 years of its existence, the center has freely shared its collections through exhibitions, loans, and programs. In this project, the center will systematically catalog all the artifacts collected by the president, his family, and the center. While collecting continues to the present, most artifacts date from the 1920s through the 1960s. The photographs and data entered into the museum cataloging software will make those treasures accessible to the staff, to other museums, and to the public, helping the center achieve its mission of informing the public about Hayes and his era.