See the monument and tomb of William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States, and learn about his life and accomplishments. Above the tomb, take in a spectacular panorama of the Ohio River Valley. Average visit time: Allow 1+ hours. Precise entrance to the memorial is located at the intersection of Cliff Road and Brower Road.
Harrison, who became a national hero during his own lifetime, was born in Virginia, but as an adult he settled in North Bend, Ohio, on land overlooking the wide, northward sweep of the Ohio River. Here his grandson, Benjamin, the 23rd president of the United States, was born.
Harrison was laid to rest in the tomb in 1841. Harrison had expressed a desire to be buried on Mt. Nebo in North Bend, Ohio, with its wide view of the Ohio River and of the corners of three states—Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Nearby is Congress Green Cemetery, the family burial grounds of his in-laws, the Symmes.
His body was brought back in a river procession of black-draped barges. He was buried on July 7, 1841, in a simple family tomb on the summit of Mt. Nebo. In 1871 the Harrison family sold its estate, with the exception of the six acres constituting Congress Green Cemetery. That same year, the president’s son, John Scott Harrison, offered the site and the tomb to the State of Ohio, on condition that it be preserved.
The tomb has 24 vaults containing the bodies of William Henry Harrison; his wife, Anna, who died in 1864; their son, John Scott, father of President Benjamin Harrison; and other members of the family. Several sealed vaults are unmarked.
The William Henry Harrison Tomb Historic Site is managed locally by the Harrison – Symmes Memorial Foundation.
Running buffalo clover (Trifolium stoloniferum) is a perennial plant so named because it grows by extending runners (stolons) along the ground. The flower heads are white and about an inch wide on stems 2 – 8 inches tall. In Ohio, running buffalo clover flowers in May and June.
Running buffalo clover (RBC) is adapted to the transition zone between forests and prairies that were once abundant in Ohio. It’s thought that RBC may have depended on bison and prairie fires to periodically disturb the soil and disperse its seeds. Due to the loss of this ecosystem, today the federally endangered plant survives in only a few isolated spots in the state.
A small population of RBC is being actively managed on the mound of Congress Green Cemetery. We work to carefully maintain this native species by following the mowing regime recommended by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The mound of the green is not mowed from May 1 until June 15 to give the RBC a chance to grow, flower, and disperse its seeds. During this time the grass and other vegetation on the green grows quite tall and begins to resemble the beautiful and productive prairie habitat that once made up a third of Ohio.
