In this age and political climate, you can’t imagine the U.S. president riding in an open-air motorcade through the streets of Ogdensburg with the Canadian prime minister, both waving to well-wishers and celebrating the cooperation between their nations.
But that’s what happened the last time a sitting U.S. president visited our border city on Aug. 17-18, 1940. There was no talk of tariffs or insults about the 51st state.
That presidential visit to Ogdensburg, by Franklin D. Roosevelt, was against the backdrop of World War II. Canada had declared war on Germany; the United States remained neutral. Over in Britain and Wales, the Nazis were conducting an intense bombing campaign. The European mainland had already fallen and Britain was teetering on collapse. Canadian politicians worried that their abundant natural resources would become the next German target.
So Canadian Prime Minister MacKenzie King seized on a pledge FDR had made two years earlier – at the dedication of the Thousands Islands Bridge at Wellesley Island – to protect Canada and create a unified defense pact. Historians dubbed it the Ogdensburg Agreement.
King traveled from Ottawa to Prescott and arrived by ferry. Roosevelt arrived with Secretary of War Henry Stimson in Norwood by train and spent the afternoon with Lieutenant General Hugh Drum reviewing 100,000 First Army troops conducting maneuvers around St. Lawrence County. They proceeded to Ogdensburg, where FDR’s motorcade traveled down Proctor Avenue and stopped for remarks delivered in front of Ogdensburg Free Academy, Then King and FDR boarded his private train. Wary of fuel tanks along the river, security officers moved the train to a railroad siding near Heuvelton.
Over dinner, FDR and King finalized details of their defense treaty. They weren’t alone. State troopers and 200 soldiers encircled the train. The next morning, they traveled to Ogdensburg airport to review 117 U.S. Army planes, then split. King returned to Ottawa; FDR headed to his Hyde Park home for a couple of days of vacation.
This concluded Roosevelt’s last trip to the Maple City. The closest a president has come since was the June 27, 1959 opening ceremony of the Eisenhower Lock on St. Lawrence Seaway. Dwight Eisenhower and Queen Elizabeth arrived at Massena on her yacht Britannia after spending the previous day at the opening of locks near Montreal at St. Lambert and Cote Ste. Catherine.
Before FDR, eight U.S. presidents had visited Ogdensburg:
July 31, 1817: The fifth president, James Monroe traveled on horseback through Potsdam, Waddington and Ogdensburg to tour northern border defenses. He stopped for lunch at the Parish home, now the Frederic Remington Art Museum, spent the night in Morristown at Colonel David Ford’s home, then embarked for the ironworks at Rossie.
Aug. 26-27, 1839: The eighth president, Martin Van Buren, visited on horseback. His presidency lasted from March 4, 1837 until March 4, 1841.
Aug. 8, 1872: Ulysses Grant attended a ceremony when the U.S. Courthouse, now the post office, was opened at Knox and State streets.
Oct. 5, 1883: Grover Cleveland spoke at the Oswegatchie Fair. To appeal to independent farmers, he intoned: “I have heard it said that a farm or a business never does better than when it is managed by its owner. So it is with your government.’’
Aug. 25, 1892: Benjamin Harrison passed through by train.
Oct. 18, 1898: Teddy Roosevelt, Republican candidate for governor, delivered a campaign speech to an overflow crowd. He also spoke at the Oswegatchie fair as governor in 1899.
1912, 1918: Warren G. Harding was lieutenant governor of Ohio when he campaigned for Howard Taft. Six years later, he returned as a U.S. senator and brought his mistress, Carrie Fulton Phillips. He was elected president in 1921, then the Teapot Dome Scandal occurred.
I did not find dates, but Herbert Hoover had been an early proponent of the Seaway.
If you think this research is impressive, credit St. Lawrence County legislator Jim Reagan. He is the author of four books on the North Country, former communications director for state Sen. Patty Ritchie, and former managing editor of the Journal and Advance-News.
He has enshrined several presidents – both Roosevelts, Monroe, Grant and Cleveland – in the suites of the Sherman Inn on Franklin Street that he operates with his wife Donna.
“I like James Monroe, Ulysses Grant, Franklin Roosevelt and Teddy Roosevelt,’’ Reagan explained. “When I found a copy of Grover Cleveland’s speech that he gave at the Ogdensburg Fairgrounds … I decided to include him because I thought people would enjoy seeing a copy of the speech in their room.’’
“Warren G. Harding, even though he visited Ogdensburg twice, was truly a low life so he got a closet. Benjamin Harrison said he would visit Ogdensburg and his train stopped briefly on his way to Malone where he gave a speech. But he couldn’t be bothered to say hi. So he got a closet. We have long memories in Ogdensburg.’’
The Sherman Inn’s homage to presidents will be featured this fall in a 30-minute historical series on WPBS in Watertown titled “Christine the History Queen.’’ Norwood-Norfolk graduate Christine Lamendola Darrow spotlights historical sites and events in the series.
Morristown native Jim Holleran is a retired teacher and sports editor from Rochester. Reach him at jimholleran29@gmail.com or view past columns under “Reflections of River Rat’’ at https://hollerangetsitwrite.com/blog/
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