President Chester A. Arthur Home, New York

Chester Arthur, the 21^st President of the USA, was probably born in Fairfield, Vermont, near the Canadian border (though some say he was actually born on the Canadian side) and probably in 1829 (though his own tomb, in Albany, says 1830). Either way, his parents took him on their peripatetic existence around Vermont and the upper Hudson Valley, in towns like Hoosick, North Pownal, Ballston Spa, Schaghticoke, and Schenectady. Chester Arthur taught school and studied law, and eventually moved down to New York City, where he accepted a post as Collector of Customs. After serving in the Civil War, and developing political connections, he moved into a house at 123 Lexington Street. He was living there when he was nominated to be Garfield’s vice president, and also when he was sworn in as president after Garfield finally succumbed to his assassin’s attack, in 1881. Chester Arthur returned to this house too after his completing his three years as president, and he died there in 1886. The house, which was later owned by William Randolph Hearst, is now a spice shop and apartments. A bronze historical plaque from 1964 is obscured among the clutter of the façade