Home of Reuben E. Fenton - Jamestown, New York
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member Szuchie
N 42° 05.502 W 079° 14.335
17T E 645641 N 4661458
This marker state that this is the home of Governor and U.S. Senator Reuben E. Fenton.
Waymark Code: WM36A6
Location: New York, United States
Date Posted: 02/17/2008
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member GEO*Trailblazer 1
Views: 48
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The marker states:



Home of Reuben E. Fenton



"The soldiers' friend"



Governor 1865-1869

U.S. Senator 1869-1875



State Education Department 1932



According to Wikipedia:



Reuben Eaton Fenton (4 July 1819–15 August 1885) was an American politician from New York. He was a Democrat from the beginning of his political career until about 1854, when he became a Republican. In 1872 he was among the Republicans opposed to President Ulysses S. Grant who joined the short-lived Liberal Republican Party.



Fenton was born in Cattaraugus County, New York and later became a resident of Jamestown in Chautauqua County. Fenton was governor of New York from 1865 to 1868. He also served in the state assembly (1850), the United States Senate (1869–1875) and the United States House of Representatives (1853 to 1855 and 1857 to 1865). In 1868 he was named as a candidate to be Vice President but was eventually replaced as the Republican vice presidential candidate by Schuyler Colfax. He died in Jamestown, New York. After his death, a building at The State University of New York at Fredonia, Fenton Hall, was named in his honor because he had attended the previous incarnation of the school, the Fredonia Academy.



Fenton was one of the founders of the Republican Party and was an advocate against slavery. He was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Fenton was known as "the soldiers' friend" for his efforts to help returning Civil War veterans. Fenton worked to remove tuition charges for public education, helped to establish six schools for training teachers, and signed the charter for Cornell University. As a first-term congressman, Fenton strongly opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and unsuccessfully tried to persuade President Franklin Pierce and secretary of state William Marcy to oppose the bill. He was defeated for reelection that year. In 1878 he represented the United States at the international monetary conference in Paris, France.



His former home in Jamestown is the site of the Fenton Historical Society.

History if no Link:
According to the City of Jamestown: Reuben E. Fenton was a native of Chautauqua County and a citizen of Jamestown for the greater part of his life. A Democrat when he was elected to Congress in 1852, he became a founder of the Republican Party, a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, and a staunch supporter of the anti-slavery movement. In 1864 he was elected Governor of New York State and served two terms, from 1865 to 1869. His work during the reconstruction period after the Civil War and his efforts in behalf of the returning soldiers won for him the title of "The Soldiers’ Friend". In 1869 he was elected United States Senator from New York and served one term. His home in Jamestown was built in 1864. The building with its surrounding grounds of nearly four acres, known as Walnut Grove, was acquired by the City in 1919 as a Soldiers’ Memorial Park. For fifty years it was used by veterans organizations. World War II draft board, and the City Health Department. It was the final national headquarters of the Grand Army of the Republic. Since 1967 it has housed the city’s historical museum and library maintained by the Fenton Historical Society.

Structure Type: Stone

Link to the Homestead: Not listed

Additional Parking or Point of Interest: Not Listed
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