Super neat & quirky little museum to venture to on a rainy day! Lots of fun & interesting things to…read moreread about. My kids really enjoyed trying out the rotary telephones. They had never used one until then! Kids these days...

I work for the railroad, and I have been by this building 500 times in the last 17 years. I never…read moreknew that it was here, but some friends were doing Atlas Obscura day trips and this was one of the stops. It is really cool to see all the old popcorn machines, Marion, history, and Ohio history, all under one building. We're bringing some Swiss friends next time!

Located in Marion and free to visit if you're an Ohio History Connection member. There is a…read morevisitors center that has a gift shop and a small museum. The tour took us through his home which had a lot of history and has been kept in wonderful condition. We loved being on the porch where he campaigned and learning about how the property was set up during that time. You can also stop by the monument where he and his wife are buried since it's only a mile away.

This is not only home of a presidential library, it is also the site of the home of William…read moreHarding, the 29th President of the United States. This is a compound that consist of the Harding Presidential Library and Museum, Harding's Home, a horse shoe pit where you can threw a few shoes, a sentry guard house, a press house and Christian house (Harding's neighbors). President Harding was a long time resident of Marion, so it is only fitting that the city is where the President's Museum and Library is located. As you would expect, the grounds are immaculate and well maintained. There is a huge private parking lot to park and some benches on the grounds to sit. The Harding house was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1965. The museum/library and houses were all closed during my visit, but I was able to freely walk around the campus and check things out. There are a bunch of informational placards around the grounds. I suggest making sure your check the library/museum operating hours if you plan on going into the buildings. I also suggest coupling this trip with a visit to the Harding Memorial which is about a mile and a half away.

President Warren G Harding home tour and museum: both are well worth your time…read more Our guided tour by Karen Caudill of his home was informative and interesting and thoroughly enjoyable. I highly recommend this tour.

Definitely a good place for kids. The Marion County Historical Society is located in the same…read morebuilding as the Popcorn Museum, and the kids will love looking at the old machines they have on display.

Such a fun time for our 5 year old grandson! Lots to do and plenty of things to play with and to…read moreuse their imagination on

Really fun place to take your kids on a day when you have nothing else planned or when the weather…read moreisn't great. Worth the 5$ entree fee and it really is a donation for them. They have a lot of great set ups in different rooms for kids of all ages. A race track, build it room, camping/nature room, barn/farmers market, town, and craft room. Every inch of this place is geared up to entertain. Highly recommend. Craft room has crafts already pre-planned with decorations and supplies set out for you. They also have musical instruments, dress up clothes, a black light room, and life size peg boards.

There are TWO Harding sites in Marion. There is the Harding Home Historical Site (Library and…read moreMuseum) which is about a mile from the Harding Memorial. If you're in town - be sure to visit both. The Harding Memorial is a stunning memorial and includes the burial sites for both Harding and his wife, Florence. Thie memorial rivals some of the more famous memorials in Washington, DC. There is no admission fee for the Harding Memorial.

William Harding was the 29th President of the United States and long time Marion, Ohio resident…read more The Harding Memorial is the burial site of President Harding and his wife Florence. It is also known as the Harding Tomb. This is one of the last elaborate presidential tombs ever made. The memorial is managed by the Ohio Historical Society. The circular marble structure is reminiscent of something out of ancient Greece. It has no roof in an effort to honor President Harding's wish to be buried in a simple grave under a tree and the stars. The memorial is the work of Henry Hombostel and Eric Wood. It was completed in 1927, but due to President Harding being marred by personal controversies and scandals at the time of his death, the Memorial was not officially dedicated until 1931 by President Herbert Hoover. It costed $783,103, which is approximately $15.3 million. It stands about 53 feet tall and has a diameter of 103 feet. The memorial is across from the Marion Cemetery and has a small private parking lot. The grounds are immaculate. It has a lot of green space and a small round structure at the base of the memorial that has informational placards about President Harding, his wife and his presidency/life. The President and First Lady's crypts are fenced off so visitors can not go up to them. You can easily view them through the fence though. There is not much to see on the backside of the memorial except the structure itself. This is not a very long stop but could easily be coupled with other nearby attractions such as the Harding Library, the Marion Cemetery, and/or the Marion Veterans Park to maximize your time.

You will find this gem tucked away in the back corner of the Marion Cemetery. It was installed back…read morein 1896 by the Merchant family to mark the grave of their patriarch Charles Merchant. It consists of a large ball perched upon a stone plinth. The ball is made of Quincy black granite, which is not quarried anymore. The structure has smaller balls placed in a circular formation around it. Parking here is simple. You just pull up on the nearest driveway, stop and explore. The ball is polished to a shine with the exception of one spot. If you look closely, you will see a circular patch on the ball. That is where it originally made contact with the pedestal that it is sitting on. Rumor has it that the 5.2-ton ball has been slowly rotating somehow. Many have speculated the cause of the movement, including ghost, but there has not been a definitive explanation given to this day. The shifting was first noticed by the Merchant family who had the giant stone lifted by a crane and placed back in its rightful orientation in 1898. They also secured it with some tar. This is a neat unexplained phenomenon that is worth a visit if you are in Marion, just to say that you have seen it. Either way, do not go there thinking you will witness the ball revolving. It only moves a fraction of an inch a year. This memorial is not a large consumer of your time. I was there less than 5 minutes, so I recommend checking out the Harding Memorial, Veterans Memorial Park, the Merchant Memorial, and the Marion County Firefighter's memorial, The WWII Marion County Veterans Memorial, all with in a half a mile. Fun Fact: The structure was featured in "Ripley's Believe It or Not," in 1929 and there is a water fountain created in the likeness of the structure outside the" Ripley's Believe It or Not" Museum in Myrtle Beach.

Fantastic experience! Love the food and tea. Great atmosphere and company. Will definitely come…read moreback again. Always a great time.

From the owner: We bring a little of the British teatime tradition in a setting that takes you back in time…read more Perfect for parties too

The Harding Presidential Sites includes the Harding Home and the Harding Presidential Library and…read moreMuseum. The Ohio Historical Society recently completed a complete renovation of the house - spending over $1,000,000 on the renovation. The Library and Museum opened in 2020. This site is about 1.5 miles from the Harding Memorial (aka the Harding Tomb). There are guided tours of the house (hourly at the top of hour). The website indicates you can make reservations for a tour but on the day we were here - reservations were not needed. In fact, my wife and I were the only two on the 11am tour. John, our tour guide, was fantastic. He gave an excellent narration and intrepratation of how life was in the 1920's - including the political environment of the day and Harding's "porch campaign". The house is well preserved and well maintained (it is managed by the Ohio Historical Connection). Also on the grounds are the "press house" - a "kit hhouse" that was build in two days to house the media covering the campaign and the Harding Presidential Library and Museum. The Library and Museum offers self-guided tours and has a wealth of exhibits chronicling the Harding campaign and his brief time in office.

We came to Ohio to visit 4 presidential libraries, including this one. The building and grounds…read moreare very nice. You can tour the museum and the house or just the museum. We decided to just tour the museum. The staff working there were very nice and helpful. The museum starts with a short movie about Harding's life and presidency. It was very informative. We then went through the exhibits and displays on the first floor. There is also a nice gift shop.