[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 35 (Tuesday, March 12, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CELEBRATING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GROVER CLEVELAND MEMORIAL 
                         BIRTHPLACE ASSOCIATION

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 12, 2013

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Grover 
Cleveland Memorial Birthplace Association, located in Caldwell, New 
Jersey, as they celebrate their Centennial this year.
  The Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association was incorporated 
in 1913 as a non-profit organization ``to honor and perpetuate the 
memory of Grover Cleveland''. Stephen Grover Cleveland rose from humble 
beginnings as the fifth of nine children to a Presbyterian minister in 
Caldwell, New Jersey. After serving several years as an apprentice 
clerk in a local law firm, Grover Cleveland passed the bar and opened 
his own firm in 1859. He soon became a rather prominent lawyer and 
Democratic politician, and in 1881, was elected mayor of Buffalo, New 
York. Grover Cleveland's career continued to ascend, and during his 
gubernatorial term in New York from 1883 to 1884, interest in 
preserving his birth site kindled. He then served a presidential term 
beginning 1885, and again beginning 1892, becoming the only president 
to serve two non-consecutive terms. The political prestige fueled the 
interest in the preservation of his Caldwell birthplace.
  The site was originally erected as a manse by the First Presbyterian 
Church at Caldwell on the north side of Newark Turnpike. It housed 
Reverend Richard Falley Cleveland, his wife, Ann Neal Cleveland, and 
their ever-expanding family, when their fifth child was born on March 
18, 1837. He was named for the church's first minister, Stephen Grover. 
During the ensuing years, the house and barn were enlarged and 
``modernized'' to accommodate the family. In 1902, the Church began 
negotiations for the sale of the property at $18,000, to only be used 
as a CFO COI memorial to Grover Cleveland, and in 1907, a committee of 
friends installed a bronze tablet in the room where he was born. The 
then 70-year-old Grover Cleveland wrote that he was profoundly moved by 
this event. Finally, in 1913, the Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial 
Association was incorporated with four officers and thirty-nine 
trustees, all prominent citizens throughout the country. The 
Association purchased the house and lot, as well as the lot along 
Arlington Avenue. However, they faced financial difficulties during the 
depression, and the State of New Jersey assumed ownership. Governor 
Moore appointed twenty trustees to oversee the property. Fortunately, 
in 1936 the house was restored to its 1870 appearance under a 
government Works Progress Administration program, and was placed under 
the Bureau of Historical Monuments (subsequently under the Department 
of Environmental Protection and Energy, Division of Parks and 
Forestry). The house is listed on both the National and New Jersey 
Register of Historic Places.
  The Grover Cleveland Birthplace Memorial Association was reactivated 
in 1986 for the Sesquicentennial of Grover Cleveland's Birth (1987), 
and still functions today as a voluntary auxiliary working in full 
cooperation with the state. It is an officially recognized Friends 
Organization. In 1990, the Mayor of Caldwell appointed a liaison with 
the birthplace, a GCBMA trustee, establishing direct contact with the 
Borough. The Association continues to promote greater interest and use 
of this national historic site, which hosts several period exhibits and 
activities from the lifetime of Grover Cleveland. Throughout their long 
history, they have worked to bring awareness to the site and the great 
history surrounding Grover Cleveland.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in congratulating 
the Grover Cleveland Memorial Birthplace Association as they celebrate 
their Centennial.

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