The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum (CCPLM) collects, preserves and makes available for research materials documenting the public and private life of Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933). Manuscripts, artifacts and exhibits cover his political career from Northampton to Boston to the White House and his post-presidential years as a Northampton resident. The Collection also includes materials related to Grace Goodhue Coolidge (1879-1957) and sons John (1906-2000) and Calvin Jr. (1908-1924).
The Coolidge Collection
The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum was established in 1920, when Massachusetts Governor and Vice-President Elect Calvin Coolidge began giving documents and memorabilia to Forbes Library, the public library for the city of Northampton, Massachusetts. During his Presidency and upon leaving the White House, additional materials were added including the Howard Chandler Christy portraits of Calvin Coolidge and his wife, Grace, and the infamous electric exercise horse. In 1956, acting upon the request of Grace Coolidge and Trustees of Forbes Library, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted funds to establish a “Calvin Coolidge Memorial Room” as a separate entity within the Forbes Library. Today, the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum at Forbes Library is the largest existing source of primary material on Calvin Coolidge and the only public library in the United States to hold a presidential collection.
Research at the Coolidge Library & Museum
The collection consists of manuscripts, speeches, letters, videos, recordings, microfilms, the official presidential papers and the personal papers of President Coolidge, tapes, off-the-record press conferences, photographs, paintings, scrapbooks, broadsides, artifacts, and the famous electric exercise horse. The Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library & Museum is managed by an Archivist/Curator and is available to researchers during open hours and by appointment.
For research questions, please contact archivist, Julie Bartlett Nelson at 413-587-1014 or coolidge@forbeslibrary.org