Recognizing the 110th anniversary of the Nation's First Presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums.

Whereas the year 2026 marks the 110th anniversary of the opening of the United States of America’s first Presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums;

Whereas the year 2026 also marks the 150th anniversary of Rutherford B. Hayes’ Presidential campaign;

Whereas Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th President of the United States, and his 8 children commemorated their father’s legacy by creating the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, which broke ground in Fremont, Ohio, at Hayes’ residence at Spiegel Grove, in 1912;

Whereas, in honoring the legacy of Rutherford B. Hayes, the Hayes family established the first Presidential library in the United States, opening its doors in 1916 to preserve not only his personal library, but also the rich archival record of his military service and Presidency, ensuring that the story of leadership, sacrifice, and governance would be accessible to generations of Americans;

Whereas the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums at Spiegel Grove stands today as a place of reflection, preserving the memory of these events and inviting future generations to understand the responsibilities of citizenship;

Whereas the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums was used as a model for construction of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York, which was the first official Federal Presidential library, beginning a national tradition and paving the way for 16 Federal Presidential libraries;

Whereas there are several unique features of the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums, such as each entrance is marked with original White House gates used during the Hayes Presidency, the 31-room Victorian-style home of Rutherford B. and Lucy Hayes has been restored to look as it did during their lifetimes, and the building houses President Hayes diaries, correspondence, and archival material of his military career, and collections on genealogy and local history along with Mrs. Hayes, correspondence and many of her favorite recipes, like those for green corn fritters and scalloped oysters, and the President and First Lady Hayes are entombed on the property;

Whereas the museum also takes effort to richly document materials that depict the social and economic life of the communities along Lake Erie’s south shoreline and the Erie Islands, as Rutherford B. Hayes was previously Governor of Ohio;

Whereas the museum has 20,915 artifacts, and 2,051 are on permanent display, offering a unique window into the American Presidency, housing treasured artifacts collected in part by President Hayes himself, including Abraham Lincoln’s slippers and a letter or document from every President of the United States, and features a replica of the historic Resolute Desk, originally presented to President Hayes by Queen Victoria, inviting visitors to reflect upon the weight and responsibility of Presidential leadership;

Whereas the museum features an exhibit that displays an original signed document from every President of the United States from George Washington to Donald Trump, and this collection was started by President Hayes himself, continued by his family, and now the museum staff;

Whereas the year 2026 also marks the 250th anniversary of American independence, and the museum shall take part in many celebrations, and Hayes was Ohio Governor at the time of preparations for the United States of America’s centennial and was appointed to the Ohio Centennial Commission in 1874 to represent Ohio at the Centennial;

Whereas, as a member of the State’s Centennial Commission, he helped organize what agricultural, industrial, technological, and historical exhibits the State would send to Philadelphia and helped select a design for the Ohio State Building that used sandstone from 21 Ohio quarries to be built at Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park;

Whereas, today, the Ohio State Building is one of the few structures from the 1876 World’s Fair still standing;

Whereas, upon his passing, President Hayes bequeathed a remarkable collection of approximately 8,000 volumes, along with thousands of pamphlets, extensive newspaper files, volumes of clippings, and manuscripts, and this body of work, deeded to the State of Ohio in 1912, continues to be preserved and maintained through a partnership between the State and the Hayes Foundation, standing as a testament to the enduring importance of knowledge, history, and public service;

Whereas the story of 1776 reminds us that America is not merely a place, but a promise, renewed by each generation, carried forward by working people, and tested by time; and

Whereas, as the United States commemorates this historic milestone, Americans are called not only to celebrate the Nation’s journey, but to learn from its lessons, honor the sacrifices of those who came before them, and dedicate themselves to the unfinished work of building an America worthy of its past, responsive to its present, and hopeful for its future: Now, therefore, be it