Perhaps the most unlikely of U.S. Presidents, Gerald Ford was born in Omaha in 1913. He was the only child of Leslie King and Dorothy Gardner. Leslie Sr. was the son of a very wealthy, prominent banker named Charles King. Full of insecurity and entitlement, he turned abusive early in their marriage. Dorothy, as a result, fled Omaha with young Leslie King Jr just sixteen days after he was born.
The future president lived those first couple of weeks at his grandparent’s Victorian mansion at 3202 Woolworth Ave. It had been known as the E. L. Patterson house for its first inhabitants. The three story 14-room house had a ballroom and a wraparound porch overlooking Hanscom Park across the street. Described as “one of the finest homes in Omaha”, it was built in 1893 for $10,000. The King family lived in the house from 1905-1916.
Dorothy raised her son in Grand Rapids, MI and married Gerald Ford in 1917. It wasn’t until 1930 that Leslie discovered Gerald wasn’t his birth father. Despite never being formally adopted, he changed his name to Gerald Ford Jr. in 1935.
The mansion on Woolworth was listed for sale in 1939 and eventually split into 10 apartments by 1940. It’s likely the house would have become a national landmark had it not caught on fire in 1971. The fire resulted in the death of Helen Glade who had escaped a house fire elsewhere just months earlier. The house was razed and the lot listed for sale not long afterwards. It wasn’t until 1973 that it was discovered that it was the first home of then-Vice President Ford. By this time, however, the vacant lot was overgrown with weeds and full of trash.
After Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, Ford had become the 38th president of the United States. John Paxson, a wealthy private citizen, purchased the lot for $17,250 so that it could be turned into a memorial for the president. His foundation financed the $400,000 cost which included relocating three homes. He also donated lots just north of the memorial to the Nebraska Historical Society who later opened the Ford Conservation Center. When asked why, John said that “We never had a native Nebraskan as president before. I didn’t do for it Gerald Ford personally. I did it for the office of the presidency”. Over the years, he had spent over $4M on the effort. He received a Distinguished Citizen Award for his generosity in 1977. He passed away in 1995.
The Gerald R. Ford Birth site and Gardens opened to a large crowd in 1976 and was officially dedicated a year later. It features a portico that resembles the north side of the White House, a colonnade that resembles a portion of the original home as well as a gazebo, a model of the old house, trees, shrubs flowers and a time capsule. The time capsule which is to be opened in 2076 contains 320 items including a cottonwood tree branch, empty Falstaff beer cans, newspaper clippings, radio and television newscasts and a football among another items. His presidency ending in 1977, he returned in 1980 when the Betty Ford Rose Gardens were dedicated to the former first lady. President Ford passed away in 2006.
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