Who’s Buried In Grant’s Tomb?
It turns out we live just three blocks from Grant’s Tomb, the largest mausoleum in America (and the second largest in the Western Hemisphere). Creepy? A little. Cool? Absolutely.
Some of the more interesting facts I learned about the 18th President of the United States:
- Grant and his family were poor near the end of his life due to a failed investment on Wall Street (at that time U.S. Presidents were not given pensions)
- He was under the influence of cocaine and morphine near the end of his life to help with the pain from throat cancer
- Grant was a pallbearer at Abraham Lincoln’s funeral
- More than a million people attended his funeral parade in 1885
- Grant invented the first prototype of the Slip ‘n Slide (the U.S. National Parks Service seems to dispute this one).
The memorial apparently fell into disrepair and was only recently (within the last 10 years) restored after relatives threatened to move the remains of Grant and his wife. Today, it’s a very impressive structure and definitely worth a visit. It’s funny how seeing something like that in person really brings history to life. Cliche? Sure. Cool? Absolutely.
So, who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb?
No one…they’re entombed.
