25. William McKinley
William McKinley was born January 29, 1843, in the McKinley family’s comfortable but modest two-story frame house in Niles, Ohio. McKinley’s father operated an iron foundry business that provided a middle class life for his wife and eight children. McKinley was raised in a devoutly Methodist household, attended school initially in a one-room schoolhouse, and was an active outdoorsman. When McKinley was nine, the family moved to nearby Poland, Ohio, which offered better educational opportunities for the children. McKinley attended Poland Seminary before briefly attending Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. A replica of the original McKinley birthplace was completed in 2003 and sits on its original site in Niles as part of the National McKinley Birthplace Memorial.
--Andrew B. Leiter
The McKinley home was on my first road trip for the project. It was also the first reproduction home I photographed, and I believe my best solution to the problem of the reproductions. I particularly like the image of the home silhouetted with the cracked blacktop in the foreground. This gives an approximation of the home without the false details of the reproduction and also illustrates the passage and effects of time in the weathered blacktop. Plus, that is some visual goodness in the light and texture of the pavement!
--Matthew Albritton