08/13/2026
Join us Tuesday, August 18th at 7PM at North Water Brewing for a very presidential Tap Talk!
Tim Garfield, great-great grandson of 20th U.S. President James A. Garfield, will speak about his efforts to preserve and promote the legacy of James and Lucretia Garfield and their northeast Ohio family through advocacy, service, and philanthropy.
Tim, along with a core group of family and friends, created The Garfield Trail linking four main Garfield sites in northeast Ohio. According to Tim, “The Garfield Trail is not a physical trail per se, but rather a cradle-to-grave connection linking the 20th U. S. President’s Moreland Hills birthplace, Hiram College, the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio, and Lake View Cemetery, where he is buried”
Garfield had deep ties to Portage County and to Hiram College. He enrolled there as a student in 1851. Later he returned to teach and, in 1857, served as its president. He married fellow student Lucretia Randolph on campus. In 1880, with the support of Lucretia as his primary political strategist, Garfield used the front porch of his home in Mentor as a platform to greet thousands of well-wishers during his presidential campaign. Today, the porch serves as a gateway to the story of the Garfield family.
Garfield also had ties to Kent. In 1859, he was at the historic Franklin Township Hall on Gougler Avenue when he received his first-ever nomination to serve as state senator for Portage and Summit counties.
We’ll see you there!
