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Presidential site to open Death in the White House exhibit

Presidential site to open Death in the White House exhibit

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site will open a new exhibit examining death in the White House at the end of the month.

The exhibit called Death in the White House will open March 22 and examine the “circle of life” for both presidents and first ladies. A reception will be from 5:30-7 p.m. March 21. More information is available online.

Eight presidents died while holding office as the nation’s leaders.

President Harrison’s wife, Caroline, died in October 1892, just months before Harrison left office. She is one of just three first ladies who died while their husbands were in office. First lady Caroline Harrison died of tuberculosis.

“Newfound firsthand accounts from seamstress Josephine Kneip’s personal diary give new insight to the Harrison family and the tragedy of First Lady Caroline Harrison’s fatal bout with tuberculosis,” said a news release on the website. “Other family diaries and letters will likewise tell the story of life and death in the White House.”

“These firsthand letters capture the inner lives of one of America’s preeminent presidential dynasties with unvarnished intimacy, grace, and keen observation and are now being explored by historians for the first time,” the release said.

This public exhibit will be included as a part of regular admission and run through Dec. 30. Learn more about the exhibit online.

The Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site is located at 1230 n. Delaware St. in the historic Old Northside neighborhood of Indianapolis. The site is the house Benjamin and Caroline Harrison built from 1874-1875.

The “death” exhibit comes after the presidential site opened its Life in the White House exhibit in January. That exhibit explores how the family managed its private life while handling the public duties of the presidency.