Events at US Grant National Historic Site
7400 Grant Rd, St. Louis 63123
Exhibit on African American Civil War Hero, Robert Smalls who was the first African American hero of the Civil War.
Everyday to 10/30/2016
Free Summer History Program for Children
At the Visitor Center
Thursday, July 28, 2016
The park will offer a free hands-on history program for children and their families on Thursday morning. Children will be engaged in a variety of activities related to the people who lived at White Haven in the 19th century and the centennial of the National Park Service. All children are welcome but must be accompanied by an adult. Activities are most appropriate for ages 6 and up, but younger siblings will certainly find something fun to do as well! Reservations are recommended and may be made by calling 314-842-1867 ext. 230.
American Solar Challenge, Solar Car Rally
Location: Grant’s Farm Parking Lot
Fees: free
Monday, August 1, 2016
American Solar Challenge is a competition to design, build, and drive solar-powered cars in a cross-country time/distance rally event. The park is proud to support science innovation and celebrate the National Park Service Centennial by hosting a stop on the American Solar Challenge. University teams from around the world will design and build solar-powered cars, and then drive them 1,800 miles on the open road during an 8-day rally. Over the course of the rally, the cars will stop at nine different National Park Service sites in seven states, including Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. Visitors are invited to see the cars and enjoy the other activities offered the day of the rally stop, including a traveling exhibit. The cars will arrive between 12:30 and 4:30 pm at Grant’s Farm parking lot, adjacent to Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. The full schedule of the rally is available on the American Solar Challenge website: www.americansolarchallenge.org
Follow Solar Challenge on Twitter
NPS Centennial Band Concert
Location: Park Grounds
Fees: Free
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Concert on the grounds of the park. It’s the National Park Service’s 100th birthday! Bring friends and family to enjoy music by a band from New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park.
Theatrical Performance – “Lift Every Voice”
Location: Visitor Center
Fees: Free
Thursday, August 25, 2016
Play to celebrate the National Park Service’s Centennial and the many Black Americans who made a difference in the American Midwest. The National Park Service and Bright Star Touring Theatre teamed up to produce Life Every Voice. Watch the pages of history come to life with interactive scenes: from the first black homesteaders reaching Nicodemus, KS to the Little Rock Nine on their first day of school. Meet famous leaders, groundbreakers and heroes such as Charles Young, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington Carver in this engaging and educational performance. Audiences will learn about many great National Parks throughout the Midwest, such as the Lincoln Home in Springfield, IL, Brown v Board of Education in Topeka, KS, and the Homestead National Monument of American in Beatrice, NE. This production also includes empowering songs such as “Oh Freedom,” “I;m Gonna Eat at the Welcome Table,” “For Lincoln and Liberty Too,” and “Home on the Range.”
Grant or Greeley – Which? The Election of 1872 Living History Weekend
Sep 9 at 6:30 PM to Sep 11 at 4:30 PM
It’s an election year! At Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, we’ll be turning the clock back to 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant is running for re-election, but the Republican Party has split. A faction of the party has labeled themselves the Liberal Republicans. They’ve held a convention and nominated the famous newspaperman, Horace Greeley as their candidate to replace Grant in the White House. The Democrats, still tainted by the Civil War, have decided to endorse Greeley as well.
The Equal Rights Party, however, has nominated the first woman to be President – the notorious Victoria Woodhull!
You are invited to come out to the park for a weekend of exciting speeches by leading celebrities like the great African American orator, Frederick Douglass, Union General and Republican Senator, John Logan, and long-time abolitionist, Gerrit Smith. The Liberal Republican candidate, Horace Greeley, will be speaking, as well as St. Louis suffragette, Virginia Minor and many others.
There will be numerous costumed interpreters and special activities throughout the day, including historic photography demonstrations and music of the era. So come out and cast your own ballot. You’ll get to decide – Grant or Greeley – Which?
