Walking in Wheatland: President James Buchanan’s Lancaster Estate

In 1857, Pennsylvania’s James Buchanan won the presidential election, a bachelor with high hopes to equal George Washington’s reputation. In a few short years, though, Buchanan will have made what historians deem the worst mistake in presidential history: the President’s inability to negotiate peace caused seven southern states to secede from the United States of America. The once-unified nation was torn in half—as well as the Democratic Party— and the years to come would bring the bloodiest war in American history.

But years and years before these consequences unfolded around this man, he was a lawyer in Lancaster, freshly graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, a capital of 18^th century knowledge and learning, built with stone and lined with green trees along its paths.

When he eventually ran for President, Buchanan used “Wheatland” as his campaign headquarters, a personal estate just west of Lancaster, PA. Tours are available to be immersed in the history of Buchanan, his extensive past as a politician, and his administration’s ultimate failure. The estate includes historical exhibits, tours of the buildings, and tours of the land’s gardens, where James Buchanan used to stroll on his own summer evenings.

Wheatland is open Monday – Saturday 10AM-4PM and is closed on Sunday. Tickets for adults are $15, or $13 for seniors. For more information on James Buchanan’s Wheatland, visit the website.