This is the No. 1 State With the Most Presidential Burials

Whether or not they’re loved or hated American presidents, and whether or not they die in the White House, they all are laid to rest at some point. The presidential burial sites aren’t always the same places that launched their political careers. Just because some states produced U.S. presidents doesn’t mean the Commanders in Chief are buried there. There are 19 states with presidents buried there, and three have the most. Let’s take a look at the states with the most presidential burials.

The three states with the most presidential burials have the most by a wide margin, but the No. 4 state was surprising to us.

7. Illinois (TIE)

Abraham Lincoln’s tomb in Illinois is practically impregnable. | Rklawton via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln lived a memorable life, and his body had some interesting experiences after he died.

  • There was a 400-city train tour from Washington, D.C., to Springfield, Illinois, but the body started decaying by the time it reached New York City during the early portion of the trip.
  • Once in Springfield, grave robbers tried to steal the body and hold it for ransom in 1876.
  • The body moved several times after the robbery attempt, according to Gizmodo.
  • Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd Lincoln, and three of their sons lie in rest in a Tomb in Springfield.

Lincoln’s body moved 17 times, but it probably won’t move again. It’s buried under 10 feet of cement and steel.

7. Indiana (TIE)

Benjamin Harrison is the only president buried in Indiana. | C. Bedford Crenshaw via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Benjamin Harrison

As we just saw, Abraham Lincoln’s body traveled halfway across the country and was moved several times before reaching its final resting spot. That wasn’t the case for Benjamin Harrison. He died in 1901 in Indianapolis, and he’s buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in the same city.

7. Iowa (TIE)

Herbert Hoover tomb at his library in West Branch, Iowa. | Shadow2700 via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Herbert Hoover

You can say Herbert Hoover has been all over the map. He came out of California to serve as president from 1929 to 1933, and he died in New York, but his body is buried in the same town as his birthplace. He is interred in West Branch, Iowa, in the eastern part of the state. His presidential library and museum are there, too.

7. Kansas (TIE)

Dwight Eisenhower is buried in Kansas. | James Anthony Wills/Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Dwight Eisenhower

As a general, Dwight Eisenhower helped the allies win World War Two. For helping to develop the interstate highway system and desegregating the armed forces, he goes down as one of the greatest presidents of all time. Eisenhower is buried on the grounds of his presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas. It’s less than a mile from Interstate 70 that runs through town.

7. Kentucky (TIE)

Zachary Taylor rests in Kentucky. | National Archive/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly in 1850, a few days after eating cherries and drinking chilled milk at a Fourth of July celebration in Washington, D.C. (He likely died from cholera). The former Mexican War hero and anti-slavery stalwart had his remains tested for poisoning more than 140 years later. He wasn’t poisoned, and his body is buried at his namesake cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.

7. Michigan (TIE)

The casket of President Gerald Ford is carried to an internment ceremony in 2007. | David Hume Kennerly/Gerald R. Ford Library & Museum/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Gerald Ford

Gerald Ford is one of several presidents with interesting secret service nicknames, but he’s the only president buried in Michigan. He died in California, but his body rests in the same state where he was a star college football player. The Gerald Ford Museum rests on the banks of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and that’s where he’s buried.

7. Missouri (TIE)

John McCain pays respects at Harry Truman’s grave in Missouri in 2008. | Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Harry Truman

Before Harry Truman, presidents earned modest salaries. However, Congress upped the pay to $100,000 per year plus $50,000 for expenses because Truman was in debt when he took office, according to Bankrate. We’re not sure if that salary paid for his namesake library and museum in Independence, Missouri, but that’s where Truman’s body is buried.

7. New Hampshire (TIE)

Franklin Pierce is buried just a few miles from where he grew up in New Hampshire. | National Archive/Newsmakers/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Franklin Pierce

Between the stress of the job, being depressed about losing his sons, and being distraught about his depressed wife, Franklin Pierce loved to drink. He might be America’s saddest president. He was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, and he’s buried a few miles away in state capital Concord, where he dies in 1869, reportedly from liver cirrhosis.

7. New Jersey (TIE)

Grover Cleveland is the only president buried in New Jersey — for now. | National Archive/Newsmakers/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Grover Cleveland

Our only president to serve two non-consecutive terms hated the White House, and thankfully, he’s not interred anywhere close to it (unlike a few leaders we’ll discuss soon). The onetime New York governor is buried in a cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey, which is where he died in 1908.

We can guarantee the Garden State will move up the list in the future. Donald Trump is on the record saying he wants to be laid to rest at his golf club in Bedminster.

7. Pennsylvania (TIE)

James Buchanan was born and is buried in Pennsylvania. | Library of Congress/Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: James Buchanan

Many of the early presidents are buried on family land, and many of the latter-day leaders are interred at their presidential libraries. James Buchanan, who might have been America’s first gay president, isn’t in either group. He was born in Pennsylvania, and he’s buried at a cemetery in Lancaster.

7. Texas (TIE)

Air Force Brigadier General Lawrence H. Stevenson salutes Lyndon B. Johnson’s gravesite. | Joel Martinez/US Air Force via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Lyndon B. Johnson

It’s safe to say that not many presidents get the same kind of burial treatment as Lyndon B. Johnson. His body rests at the Johnson Family Cemetery in Stonewall, Texas, about 60 miles west of downtown Austin. The gravesite lies within Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park, which is on the north bank of the Pedernales River across from Lyndon B. Johnson State Park. The national park contains an airstrip, visitor center, and several monuments celebrating the 36th president.

7. Vermont (TIE)

Calvin Coolidge grave in Vermont. | Kenneth C. Zirkel via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Calvin Coolidge

Even though he and his wife kept some incredibly unique pets at the White House, Calvin Coolidge isn’t buried anywhere near a zoo. The final resting place of the 30th president is in the tiny Plymouth Notch Cemetery in Vermont. It’s the same town where he was born, and the 19th-century home where he grew up and was sworn in as president is a local attraction.

7. Washington, D.C.

Woodrow Wilson rests inside Washington National Cathedral. | Brian P Irwin/iStock/Getty Images

How many: 1

Presidential burial: Woodrow Wilson

Of all the presidents who served as president in Washington, D.C., only one is actually buried there. America’s 28th president lies at the Washington National Cathedral in the district. Since 1956, Wilson Bay at the cathedral has housed Woodrow and his second wife, Edith.

5. California (TIE)

The Reagan Library and Museum is one of two presidential burials in California. | AFP/Getty Images

How many: 2

Presidential burials: Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan

We’re finally moving on to states with multiple presidential gravestones, and California has two. The state always seems to vote Democrat, but the two Commanders in Chief buried there, Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, are Republicans.

Nixon’s body rests at his library and museum in Yorba Linda, southeast of Los Angeles, and Reagan lies northwest of downtown L.A. in Simi Valley.

5. Massachusetts (TIE)

John Adams and John Quincy Adams are both interred at United First Parish Church Quincy, Massachusetts. | Upstateherd via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 2

Presidential burials: John Adams, John Quincy Adams

If you want to visit two presidential resting places at one time, then you need to head to Quincy, Massachusetts. The father-and-son duo of John and John Quincy Adams are both interred at United First Parish Church. So, you get two presidents from one family buried in the same place in one state.

4. Tennessee

James K. Polk grave at the Tennessee capitol building. | JW1805 via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 3

Presidential burials: Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, Andrew Johnson

It’s been a while since a president was laid to rest in Tennessee, but it’s still one of the states with the most presidential burials. Andrew Jackson, James K. Polk, and Andrew Johnson are spending eternity in the Volunteer State.

  • Jackson (died 1845) is buried alongside his wife at his Hermitage Estate on the outskirts of Nashville.
  • Polk (died 1849) rests closer to modern-day political action. He’s buried on the grounds of the Tennessee State Capitol building in Nashville, though relatives are attempting to move him to the small town of Columbia south of the city, according to The New York Times.
  • Johnson (1875) already rests in a small town. His grave is located next to his old home in Greenville, which is in the northeast part of the state.

3. Ohio

The gleaming Mckinley Monument in Canton, Ohio. | Alycat via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 5

Presidential burials: William Henry Harrison, Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding

It’s been a while since a president was buried in the Buckeye State, but Ohio still has its share of presidential burials. It has five within its borders.

  • Harrison, the shortest-tenured president who died a month after being sworn in, rests in North Bend, west of Cincinnati on the Ohio River.
  • Hayes’ library and museum in Fremont, which between Toledo and Sandusky, also houses his grave site.
  • Lakeview Cemetery on the east side of Cleveland holds Garfield’s tomb and monument.
  • McKinley’s library, museum, and tomb are all located at West Lawn Cemetery in Canton. It’s just down the road from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
  • It’s fitting that Harding, a president with one of most corrupt cabinets lies in rest in a tomb that cost nearly $800,000. However, you can make the case that the memorial and grave in Marion was worth the money. Forty-six Greek-style columns support an open-air roof to honor Harding’s wishes to be buried under the trees and stars.

2. New York

Grant’s tomb in New York City is now the largest in North America. | Library of Congress via Wikimedia Commons

How many: 6

Presidential burials: Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore, Ulysses S. Grant, Chester Arthur, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt

If you’re taking a tour of the presidential burial sites in New York, then you’ll also get a nice tour or the state itself. Grant’s tomb in Riverside Park in New York City is the largest in North America, according to the National Park Service. Teddy Roosevelt’s gravesite in Oyster Bay on Long Island is close to the city. The other the presidential gravesites are scattered around the state.

  • Franklin Roosevelt loved his house in Hyde Park, and he’s buried on the grounds there.
  • If you stop in upstate Kinderhook and Menards, you can see the resting places of Van Buren and Arthur, respectively. No word on whether the grave sites mention each presidents’ terrible hairstyles.
  • You’ll find Fillmore at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo.

1. Virginia

An eternal flame at the gravesite of John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery. | Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

How many: 7

Presidential burials: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, John Tyler, William Howard Taft, John F. Kennedy

Three of the early presidents who were also founding fathers are buried at their estates in Virginia: George Washington at Mount Vernon, Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, and James Madison at Montpelier. James Monroe and John Tyler both rest at Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

Taft and Kennedy are the two presidential burials at Arlington National Cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. JFK’s grave moved just four years after his burial, and the same man dug his grave twice.

All burial locations courtesy of Presidents USA.

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