Welcome to the audio-described version of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site's official print brochure. Through text and audio descriptions of photos, illustrations, and maps, this version interprets the two sided color brochure that Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site visitors receive. The brochure explores the history of the park, some of its highlights, and information for planning your visit. This audio version lasts about 37 minutes which we have divided into seventeen sections, as a way to improve the listening experience. Sections 1-10 cover the front of the brochure and include information regarding Grant's legacy as a victorious general and two term President, Grant and his wife's family's association with slavery, and how Grant's relationships with the Dent family while living at White Haven were a microcosm of national issues of slavery and sectionalism. Sections 11-17 cover the back of the brochure which consists of White Haven and its inhabitants' relationship with the St. Louis area, White Haven's progression from a slave plantation to a horse farm employing free labor, and the Plan Your Visit section which includes a map of the park.
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site, located in Missouri, a unique oasis within a suburban area, is part of the National Park Service, within the Department of the Interior. The 9.65 acre park is situated twelve miles southwest of downtown St. Louis. This park was established in 1989. Each year approximately 40,000 visitors come to enjoy the unique experiences that can be had only at Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. We invite you to explore the park's historic house and museum exhibits related to Ulysses S. Grant's military service, family, and political career, and the winding walkway around the park with access to the nearby Gravoy Greenway (Grant's Trail), part of the Great Rivers Greenway. For those seeking to learn more about the park during their visit, additional information can be found at the Visitor Center. To find out more about what resources might be available or to contact the park directly, visit the "Accessibility" and "More Information" sections at the end of this audio-described brochure.
The front of the brochure includes quotes, historic photographs of people including Grant and his family members, and buildings, an image of a painting, and a newspaper advertisement. Most photos are black and white unless indicated as color.
IMAGE: National Park Service Black Band
DESCRIBING: A rectangular black band containing a National Park Service logo and text.
DESCRIPTION: This is the National Park Service logo. It is a vertical arrowhead shape pointed at bottom. The notch that fits into the arrow shaft is at the top. The background color for the top two thirds is brownish. There is white lettering near the top right that reads NATIONAL PARK SERVICE. Underneath the words is the outline of a white snow capped mountain. To the left is a silhouette of a green Sequoia tree. Below the mountain and to the right is a small patch of white, representing a body of water. The bottom part of the arrowhead is green, representing grass, with small silhouetted trees above it. A white silhouette of a bison is at the bottom of the arrowhead, surrounded by the green background.
IMAGE 1: White Haven
DESCRIBING: Black and white landscape photograph
DESCRIPTION: A black and white photograph of the Main House, circa 1860, with the front of porch and balcony of the house oriented toward the viewer’s right. The house is painted a light color. It has a peaked, shingled roof, stone chimneys, and a wide gallery balcony on the second floor. Barely visible is a woman standing on the balcony, looking toward the camera. There is a one-story addition to the side of the house, with its own stone chimney. At the rear of the addition is a covered area with a chair and possibly a small table. The photograph shows windows in the attic, first floor of the addition, and cellar. Around the outside of the house are many trees, large and small. There is a white, wooden fence coming to a corner in the foreground, and a muddy path leading up to the house.
CAPTION: White Haven, 1860
CREDIT: Ulysses S. Grant NHS
IMAGE 2: Ulysses S. Grant
DESCRIBING: A small, oval black and white photograph.
DESCRIPTION: An oval-shaped black and white photograph of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant is looking directly at the camera, with furrowed brows. His hair is parted on his left and he has a slight widow’s peak. Grant has a trimmed salt and pepper beard and mustache. He is wearing a dark bow tie and white buttoned shirt, a vest, and coat with wide peaked lapels. Grant looks to be in his mid-to late forties.
CAPTION: Ulysses S. Grant, 1870
CREDIT: Library of Congress
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Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most famous Americans of his era. As the commanding general of the US Army during the Civil War, he led the fight to preserve the Union. As 18th president (1869 to 1877), he championed civil rights for African Americans. Grant’s life and legacy are commemorated in many ways, at many places: Civil War battlefields like Shiloh and Vicksburg, the equestrian statue beside the US Capitol honoring his war-time heroism, and the solemn quiet of his New York City tomb.
But beyond these public roles, who was Ulysses S. Grant? Several characteristics defined the man and his character—loving devotion to his wife Julia and their four children, genuine affection for family and friends, keen sense of duty to country, and deep concern for humanity.
It is his legacy as a person that resonates so strongly at his White Haven home, now known as Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site.
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As a young officer, Grant visited White Haven, a plantation owned by “Colonel” Frederick Dent. Here, he met and courted Julia Dent. Ulysses and Julia lived at White Haven 1854 to 1859 and raised their young family. Grant helped manage his father-in- law’s plantation and its enslaved workers. Grant himself owned at least one enslaved man, William Jones. Times were tough during the Grant family’s time at White Haven. Struggling through a weak economy, health problems, and even a frost-filled summer, the Grants fought poverty and hardship. They moved to Galena, Illinois, about a year before the outbreak of the Civil War.
Today White Haven is a national historic landmark and the centerpiece of this National Park Service site. It is a place where visitors may examine the lives of the Grant and Dent families and the enslaved people. For some, White Haven was a place of leisure, entertainment, and family. For others, it was a place of backbreaking labor, daily struggles, and longing for freedom. These people and their experiences are inseparable from White Haven’s story and the story of a country enduring its most tumultuous times
IMAGE 1 of 3: Ulysses S. Grant
DESCRIBING: A small, oval, black and white photograph.
DESCRIPTION: An 1866 black and white oval photograph of Ulysses S Grant. The 44 year-old Grant is shown in a studio setting, seated with his left arm resting on a table and his left leg crossed over his right. He has dark hair, trimmed above his ears, combed over and parted on his left. He has a neatly trimmed short beard and mustache and a thin-lipped serious expression. His head his turned slightly to his left following his gaze. His right eyebrow is slightly raised. He is wearing a military frock coat with black cuffs, epaulettes denoting his rank as a General. He has on a white shirt with a small bowtie and a dark vest with a watch fob. His right arm lays across his body with his hand resting on his left knee. His open left hand reveals his wedding band on his little finger.
CAPTION: Ulysses S. Grant in 1866, about the time he received the rank of General of the US Army, “conferred by Act of Congress, and the will of the President of the United States.”
CREDIT: Library of Congress
IMAGE 2 of 3: Julia Dent Grant
DESCRIBING: A small, oval, black and white photograph.
DESCRIPTION: An 1864 black and white oval photograph of Julia Dent Grant. The 38 year-old is shown seated on a wooden chair turned to her right at almost a profile position with her hands clasped in her lap. Julia’s dark hair is parted in the middle and pulled tightly back and tied into a bun. She has a prominent nose, her eyes are closed and she is not smiling. She wears a dark colored, closely buttoned dress which is pulled tightly at the waist and flows freely to the floor. She has a white collar and white ruffled blouse sleeves. She has wide cuffs with two white bands surrounding a darker band. There are two designs on each upper arm consisting of those same white bands encircled by darker colored ribbon.
CAPTION: Julia Dent Grant later recalled that this 1864 photograph ”was taken by Brady in New York when I was on my first visit to N.Y. the spring that General Grant first came East.”
CREDIT: Library of Congress
IMAGE 3 of 3: The Grant family
DESCRIBING: A medium, rectangular, black and white photograph.
DESCRIPTION: This black and white photograph of the Grant family was taken around 1866. The portrait shows the family against a washed-out background that appears to be a wall, with decorative panels across the bottom and a broad baseboard. The Grants are arranged in a row, with 11-year old Ellen-nicknamed Nellie-standing at the far left. She is attired in an ankle-length, graph-checked dress that appears to be off her shoulders and has a full hoop skirt. The dress is belted at the waist. She wears a pair of what look to be leather shoes with cross straps at her ankles. Her hair is parted in the middle and lays flat against the side of her head. She is wearing a beaded necklace that hangs loosely around her neck. Nellie’s left hand is resting gently on the left shoulder of her father, Ulysses Grant, who is seated to her right. He is wearing a Union officer’s uniform that is open at the front, exposing a white shirt and a bow tie. He has crossed his right leg over the left at the knee. He wears a neatly trimmed beard and moustache and short hair. His left arm is draped around the waist of 8-year old Jesse, the youngest of the Grant children. Jesse’s dark hair is parted on the left side and falls to near his ears. He leans against his father in a relaxed pose. Jessie is wearing what may be a boy’s version of a uniform, with white socks and dark shoes. The shirt has dark lines running down each side and meet at a wide belt. The pants are loose and are closed at the ankles. Jesse stands to the right of his older brother, Fred. Fred is 16 years old and is standing very straight with his right arm bent slightly across his waist, while his left arm is hanging at his side. His hair is parted on his right and is short, reaching just above the ears. He is wearing a military-type uniform, with epaulettes and a wide three button cuff with dark trim. The jacket is open at the front with buttons on the left, revealing a white shirt underneath. Fred is wearing a pair of straight, loose trousers. To Fred’s left is Julia Grant, Ulysses Grant’s wife. Julia, like Ulysses, is seated. She is dressed in a full-length black dress with hoop skirt. The dress reaches her neck and ends with a small white collar. Her hands are held demurely on her lap. Like Nellie, her hair is parted in the middle and straight on the sides with a bun in the rear. The boy standing on Julia's left is Ulysses S. Grant Jr., about fourteen, more commonly known as Buck. He is also dressed in a military uniform but his jacket is buttoned to the neck. His left arm is bent across his chest and right arm hangs at his side, partially hidden behind his mother. His uniform is almost an exact duplicate of the one worn by Fred.
Nellie, Ulysses Grant, and Jesse appear to be looking at the camera, while Fred, Julia, and Buck are gazing to the left.
The portrait is stiff and formal and is in contrast to the warm and loving relationship the family actually had evident from their positions in the photograph.
CAPTION: The Grant family ca. 1866: Ellen “Nellie,” Ulysses, Jesse, Fred, Julia, and Ulysses Jr. “Buck.”
CREDIT: NPS
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The issue of slavery strained relations in the White Haven household as it did throughout the nation. Grant was from Ohio, a free state where abolitionist and Underground Railroad activities flourished. Young Ulysses learned from his father, Jesse Grant, that slavery was morally wrong. Julia Dent was born and raised in the slave state of Missouri, where her father, Colonel Dent, taught her that slavery was the proper relationship between blacks and whites. Dent owned at least 30 enslaved African Americans, vital to his wealth, status, and the success of the plantation.
Nationally, tensions over the expansion of slavery drove a wedge between the slave states and the free states. When the Civil War came, Grant’s support of the Union never wavered. Dent, while professing support for the Union, did not believe the federal government should compel a state to remain in the Union. When Union authorities in St. Louis began requiring loyalty oaths, Dent refused to sign.
Julia was caught in the middle. She fully supported her husband’s efforts to preserve the Union, and boldly declared “I am the most loyal of the loyal.” On the other hand, she had enjoyed a comfortable life made possible by enslaved labor. She felt strongly that the Dent slaves were “family,” content in their servitude. In later years, through the trials of war and Reconstruction, she learned to adapt to the radically new makeup of society.
White Haven’s enslaved African Americans watched the unfolding drama with keen interest. Slavery remained legal in the border state of Missouri, and the state was exempt from President Lincoln’s 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Yet by early 1864, all the Dent slaves had illegally fled White Haven. A few, including Mary Robinson, stayed in the area, but little is known about these people’s lives after slavery.
At White Haven you can experience the nation’s division over slavery and its aftermath through one family’s perspective. The same arguments that divided the Dents and Grants were repeated in homes throughout the country. They would lead to secession and civil war. They also led to a reunited nation and freedom for four million Americans held in legal bondage.
IMAGE 1: Colonel Dent-Slaveholder
DESCRIBING: Black and white portrait excised from a photograph
DESCRIPTION: A sepia-toned portrait of Colonel Dent, an older man seated in an ornately carved wooden chair, with his head turned slightly to the right to face the camera. Dent has a portly body type, and thin wispy white hair. His face is deeply wrinkled, his brows and eyes are in a downcast expression, and he looks to be scowling. His mouth is sunken and it appears that he could be missing teeth. Dent is wearing a wrinkled, silky dark suit jacket with wide peaked lapels and the jacket is open. He is wearing a dark bow tie, a white shirt with an upturned collar, a double-breasted vest that appears to be velvet, and dark trousers that match the jacket. His right hand in a fist rests on his thigh, and his left hand holds a dark cane with an ornate metallic knob. The cane leans against the inside of Colonel Dent’s left leg.
CAPTION: Colonel Dent, Julia's father, was a slaveholder and considered himself a Southern gentleman.
CREDIT: Library of Congress
IMAGE 2: Slave Auction
DESCRIBING: Rectangular photograph of a painting
DESCRIPTION: This is a color painting of the last slave auction in St. Louis in 1861. The center of the scene is the auctioneer on a raised platform wearing green pants and a brown waistcoat. He is pointing to the crowd with his left hand and has his right hand in the air. Standing to his right is an enslaved woman holding an infant both being sold. To his left, seated are several men in vests who are recording the sale into a ledger. In front of the platform are enslaved people of various ages and of both sexes. All are dressed in very presentable attire. A white dog lays at the feet of a finely attired enslaved man. Surrounding the front of the stage in an arc are predominately well dressed white men in fine coats and some in top hats. In the foreground of this crowd is a young white couple accompanied by a white boy. The woman is wearing a black bonnet with her brown hair in a bun and wearing a long black shawl at the bottom of which is revealed a long flowing blue dress. The man is wearing a bowler hat, a brown knee length coat and dark brown pants. To his left is a white boy of about ten or twelve wearing a cap, black jacket, black knickers, white leggings and black shoes. The entire scene is set before an imposing white courthouse with steps leading up to a portico under five large white columns.
CAPTION: The last slave auction on the steps of the Old Courthouse in St. Louis took place on January 1, 1861. Painting by Thomas Satterwhite Noble, 1871.
CREDIT: Missouri Historical Society
IMAGE 3: Advertisement for Lynch Slave Pen
DESCRIBING: Rectangular photo of a newspaper advertisement
DESCRIPTION: A newspaper advertisement. The text reads: “B.M. LYNCH, No. 100 Locust Street, between Fifth and Sixth Streets, St. Louis, Missouri. Being permanently located for the purchase of Negroes, will pay the highest market value. He will also buy and sell on commission. A good yard for their accommodation. (A hand with extended index finger points to the following sentence) Particular attention paid to the selection of homes for favorite servants. (The hand with extended index finger points to this sentence) Negroes for sale at all times. On either margin are silhouetted figures symbolizing enslaved people. On the left, a silhouette of a man walking with a stick with a bag tied to it slung over his shoulder. On the right, a silhouetted woman in a dress, kneeling. She appears to be holding a bundle in front of her body.
CAPTION: Newspapers advertised the buying and selling of slaves in St. Louis.
CREDIT: NPS
The back of the brochure includes historic sepia toned prints of places and buildings associated with Grant in St. Louis, and a color map of the park and an inset map of the St. Louis area. Information on planning your visit is available.
IMAGE 1 of 2: Hardscrabble house
DESCRIBING: A small, rectangular, black and white illustration.
DESCRIPTION: This is a small rectangular sepia-tone print of a two-story log house with four tall, thin leafy trees in front of it. The view of the house is from an angle, so you see the front of the house but also the right side, which has a brick chimney with smoke rising from it. The roof is pitched to the front and back. The house is symmetrical with a door at center and windows on either side. The first story windows consist of three panes and are approximately the same height as the door. The second story windows also consist of three panes but are about a third the height of the first story windows. The door is flanked on both sides by clapboard siding. Smaller trees and lush shrubbery surround the house. There is a wooden picket fence that runs along the right side of the house perpendicular to a dirt road in the foreground. A four-rail high fence runs parallel to the same road. Standing in front of the rail fence are two African American men. Both wear long-sleeved white shirts. The man on the left wears dark trousers; the man on the right wears lighter trousers and a wide-brimmed hat. On the left side of the image, in the foreground, are two horses, pulling a flat, open wagon on the dirt road. The wagon carries neatly stacked split rails. A man wearing a dark overcoat, boots, and a dark wide-brimmed hat stands in front of the horses holding a whip over his shoulder. The two men standing in front of the fence appear to be facing him.
CAPTION: Ulysses and Julia Grant’s Hardscrabble house, 1856.
CREDIT: NPS
IMAGE 2 of 2: St. Louis riverfront
DESCRIBING: A medium, rectangular, black and white illustration.
DESCRIPTION: This is a painting of the St. Louis riverfront and Mississippi River in 1853. The painting is rendered in black and white. In the foreground, a man in a wooden canoe struggles against the river’s current to hold on to a partially submerged log. To the right of the man and his canoe is a rocky pier. The surface of the river appears calm, with ripples and a wake from a steamboat. A steamboat plies the river in the middle of the channel. The steamboat appears to be about three decks high with railings running around each deck, with a staircase and large paddlewheels roughly at the center of the port and starboard sides. Two large smokestacks pour dark smoke into the air, and a smaller smokestack farther aft emits white smoke. The sky itself is cloudy, with white billowy clouds over the city on the left side of the river and with dark clouds collecting on the opposite side. On the left side of the river is the city of St. Louis and its harbor, with buildings coming up to the riverfront and steamboats parked all along the riverfront.
CAPTION: The bustling St. Louis riverfront in 1853, as portrayed by Frederick Hawkins Piercy, one of the many travelers who passed through the city on their way west.
CREDIT: Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library, Brigham Young University
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St. Louis was a flourishing city in the 1800s. From its 18th-century roots as a French colonial town, it had grown into a center for trade, culture, and military activity.
By 1850 it was the eighth largest city in the United States. Extensive steamboat traffic on the Mississippi River, a steady flood of trappers, gold miners, and settlers heading west, a growing industrial presence, and the influx of German and Irish immigrants combined to make the Gateway City a bustling and diverse community.
White Haven, originally acquired by the Dents as a summer home in 1820, was far enough away for the family to escape the pollution and disease prevalent in the city, yet still close enough so that they could enjoy all the thriving city had to offer. White Haven eventually became the Dents’ main residence, though much of Colonel Dent’s wealth and influence remained in St. Louis. He maintained many business connections there, and the markets for White Haven’s farm goods were in the city.
Following Ulysses S. Grant’s graduation from West Point, the army assigned him to the 4th Infantry Regiment, stationed at Jefferson Barracks, south of St. Louis. This large post was integral to the army’s defense of the western frontier, and many officers later famous in the Civil War were posted there sometime during their careers. The barracks also played a central role in the St. Louis social scene, as its officers attended parties and cotillions in the city and hosted many of their own events. Julia Dent was among the many upper class young ladies who attended these functions and enjoyed the company of the officers, including Lieutenant Grant, whom she met in 1844.
St. Louis, considered a southern city, played a key role early in the Civil War, and events there helped decide the fate of Missouri, a pivotal border slave state. Decisive action by Federal troops suppressed secessionist voices and kept St. Louis, and ultimately the state, in the Union. Colonel Dent, refusing to adapt to the changing times, isolated himself at White Haven.
Today, St. Louis is a large metropolitan area. The 10-acre historic site remains a small haven in the midst of suburban development and a place to experience 19th-century country life.
IMAGE 1: White Haven, 1857
DESCRIBING: a panoramic etching of the White Haven estate
DESCRIPTION: This is an etching of White Haven as it appeared in 1875. It is a panorama of the Main House, grounds and various outbuildings. The perimeter around the property seems to be thickly wooded, and the ground is on a gently sloping incline from left to right and flattens out on the right side of the etching. From left, a rail-fenced yard and a small wooded building is built into a hillside with a peaked roof and cupola. Between this building and a somewhat larger building are two trees. The building is about one story and has two doors in front, a peaked roof, and at least one visible chimney. In front of the building are three tall trees. Moving to the right is the Main House. The main portion of the house is two or three stories, with a window on the top floor. There is a stone chimney with smoke rising from it. There is a one-story addition to the side of the house with visible windows on its main floor and windows in a basement level. Moving to the right of the house is a grove of six tall trees, and clustered behind the trees are various wooden outbuildings: a shed, a medium barn and pasture, and a large stable with a cupola on its peaked roof. Roughly in the middle of the scene is a small ditch or creek. There is a walking path with a small wooden bridge over the creek. The path leads outside the fenced-in area and toward a set of railroad tracks in the lower right-hand corner of the scene, and on the tracks is a single boxcar, perhaps hitched to a train outside the picture. There are silhouetted figures throughout the picture: a group of four people closer to the Main House, two people on the path near the fence nearest the house; a lone person walking toward the small bridge; three people, one of whom is pointing at the house and another who appears to be carrying a large bundle; and two more closer to the barn and pasture.
CAPTION: White Haven, President Grant's farm, as it appeared in the October 16, 1875, issue of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper.
CREDIT: Library of Congress
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The White Haven property, about 850 acres, included cleared fields, orchards, large wooded areas, and hills cut by streams and creeks. A variety of grains, vegetables, fruits, and
other crops were produced at White Haven and then taken to markets in the city. Cleared timber from the property was sold as firewood or to nearby coal mines as bracing for mine shafts.
Following Ulysses’ resignation from the army in 1854, he returned to White Haven to become a farmer. Grant approached the venture with characteristic determination. He cut firewood to sell and worked in the fields, planting and sowing various crops while directing the work of the enslaved laborers. In 1856, wanting a home of his own, Grant built a log cabin about a half mile north of the main house. The Grants named the cabin Hardscrabble. They lived there only briefly, though. When Julia’s mother passed away, they moved back to the main house at Colonel Dent’s request. Grant and neighboring farmers faced a number of challenges between 1854 and 1859. Unseasonably bad weather and a severe economic depression thwarted their efforts, and prolonged illness further hampered Grant. Having farmed only for a few years, he lacked the financial resources that enabled long-term farmers to survive these difficult times. In 1859 he was forced to abandon farming.
After the Civil War, Grant’s responsibilities as general of the army and then president kept him in Washington, DC. He hired caretakers to manage White Haven in his absence but continued to take great interest in the property. During this period, Grant fulfilled a long-held dream by shifting the farm’s focus to breeding and raising horses. Even as president, Grant still found time to send explicit instructions to his caretakers about how he wanted the farm managed and the property developed.
Today, several historic structures remain as tangible links to farming at White Haven. The large horse stable, ice house, and chicken house were vital parts of the farm operation. The Hardscrabble cabin, another reflection of Grant’s farming days, is next to the site at Anheuser-Busch’s Grant’s Farm.
IMAGE: Map of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
DESCRIBING: A large, rectangular map that covers the whole bottom half of the brochure.
DESCRIPTION: This is a color illustrative map of Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site. This aerial view shows the entrance to the site from Grant Road at the bottom right corner of the map. The driveway from Grant Road crosses Grant’s Trail, a pedestrian path, before it enters the bi-level parking lot. A blue arrow leads from the parking lot towards the orange-roofed Visitors Center. Symbols show that the Visitor Center is wheelchair accessible and that it has restrooms. Behind the Visitor Center is a small patio with an exhibit panel. A loop walkway leads from the Visitor Center north through the park toward the Main House. In front of the Main House is an exhibit panel and bench. Further up the path on the left is a sidewalk leading to the entrance of the Main House. After the first turn is a wooden ramp, leading to the front porch of the Main House, which is wheelchair-accessible. At the second left turn is another exhibit panel with a bench. Continuing about 30 feet along the loop walkway on the right is the Chicken House and just beyond that is the Ice House, both accessible by short wooden bridges. Directly across from the Ice House entrance is a sidewalk leading to a stair case at the back of the Main House. Along this sidewalk are two additional sidewalks, one to the left and one to the right. The sidewalk on the left leads to the entrance to the Summer Kitchen, and the sidewalk on the right leads downstairs to the entrance of the Winter Kitchen. Adjacent to the staircase is a historic cistern. Retracing your steps to the loop walkway, and continuing on the self-guided tour, is an exhibit panel located on your right. Beyond this exhibit panel is an intersection where you can continue straight to an exhibit panel just outside the Museum entrance on the left. The Museum is wheelchair accessible. Walking through the Museum leads to the exit onto a small patio and the side door entrance of the Visitor Center. Moving past the entrance of the Museum and continuing on the loop walkway beyond the exhibit panel leads to the parking lot and beyond to Grant’s Trail.
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Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site is at 7400 Grant Rd.,
0.3 miles off Gravois Rd. (MO Hwy 30).
Hours are 9 am to 5 pm daily; closed Thanksgiving, December 25, and January 1. Admission is free.
The visitor center has an information desk, theater, exhibits, sales area, rest- rooms, and park offices. Exhibit panels are located near historic features.
House tours are free; get tickets at the visitor center.
Interpretive programs and children’s activities are available year-round. Groups of 15 or more require reservations; please call 314-842-1867.
For weather delays or closures, call 314- 842-1867.
For a full list of regulations, including firearms information, visit the park website.
DESCRIBING: A small, square map.
DESCRIPTION: This is an overview of the St. Louis metropolitan area, showing main highways and arterial roads. The map is oriented north-south. Missouri is to the west, Illinois is to the east, and the Mississippi River, in blue, divides them. Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site is denoted by a green square in the lower left quadrant of the map, with a green text box with white lettering labeling it. The green square is adjacent to State Route 30 (Gravois Road), south of Interstate 44 and northeast of Interstate 270. The closest indicated town is Crestwood, located 1.5 miles to the west and denoted by a yellow circle. The town of Kirkwood is located approximately four miles to the northwest denoted by a yellow circle, and St. Louis, the nearest major city, is approximately twelve miles to the northeast, denoted by a yellow circle. The major interstate highways in proximity to the park are I-44 (east-west), I-55 (north-south), and I-270 (beltway encircling the St. Louis Metropolitan Area).
We strive to make our facilities, services, and programs accessible to all. Park films are audio-described. Audio descriptions of the Visitor Center and historic buildings on the property are available through the free National Park Service app found on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Please ask about Braille brochures at the visitor information desk. Personal, guided and descriptive tours are available upon request. Please reserve your personal tour at least five days in advance. Park buildings and walkways are wheelchair accessible, and loaner wheelchairs can be provided on request. For further information or to request a personal tour, please call (314) 842-1867 extension 230. To find out more, ask at the Visitor Center, call, or check the park website.
ADDRESS: Site 7400 Grant Rd. , St. Louis, MO 63123
PHONE: 314-842-1867
WEBSITE: www.nps.gov/ulsg
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site is one of over 400 parks in the National Park System. Please visit www.nps.gov.
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