Sherwood Forest, Virginia

John Tyler was William Henry Harrison’s vice president, and he became president when Harrison died one month into his first term, in 1841. Like Harrison, he was Tidewater gentry, born just a few miles down the road from William Henry Harrison’s birthplace, Berkeley Plantation, at Greenway Plantation. The six-room house, with outbuildings, was built around 1776, by his father, who was a former college roommate of Thomas Jefferson, and a Governor of Virginia. John Tyler was born in the house in 1790, later attending school at the College of William and Mary, 25 miles away. He became a lawyer, and began working his way up the political ladder. After his father’s death in 1813, Greenway was sold. In 1821, John Tyler bought it back, and lived there for eight years with his wife, while he served as the state governor, like his father. In 1829, he sold Greenway, and later moved to a larger plantation, a few miles away, which he renamed Sherwood Forest. This was his principal residence for the rest of his life. The original frame house dates to 1780, with parts as old as 1720. He expanded it by adding separate wings symmetrically extending from the main house, until it was 300 feet long, but only one room deep. One of the wings was a long empty hallway so his youthful wife could dance the Virginia Reel. Over his life, Tyler had fifteen children, by two wives. His second wife was less than half his age when they married, and he had his last child with her when he was 70. The plantation is still owned by his family, and the current occupant, Harrison Tyler, is the tenth president John Tyler’s grandson, a time warp made possible as Harrison’s father, John Tyler’s son, was 75 years old when Harrison was born in 1928. Though privately owned and occupied, the plantation is open to the public. For a fee, currently $35, visitors can tour the house, often guided by Harrison Tyler, the president’s grandson himself. The rest of the grounds are open for self-guided tours, using a tour leaflet available at the gate, with 21 individual numbered stops.