ON APRIL 13, 1891, President Benjamin Harrison embarked on a tour of the nation by rail. At the time, the trip crisscrossing the entire country was the most extensive travel ever undertaken by a sitting U.S. president. The journey lasted 34 days, covered more than 9,000 miles, and saw Harrison make nearly 150 whistle-stop speeches. The purpose? To promote national unity and the policies of his two-year-old administration. His private train represented the height of luxury travel, with electric lights, a lavishly furnished smoking compartment, a barbershop, and an elegant restaurant with printed breakfast, luncheon, and dinner menus. When he arrived in Lordsburg, New Mexico, on April 21, the president was presented with this gift from the then-territory. The cyan velvet box, faded with time, has a satin lining and a clasp made of silver from local mines. The card tacked to the inside of the lid reads, “Protect the chief industry of our territories. Give us free coinage of silver.” The box holds mineral deposits containing silver ore, except for the black stone, which contains gold ore. Also enclosed was a letter requesting statehood—for which the territory would have to wait nearly another 21 years.
Gift Box of Ore
Vintage: 1891
Resides in the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site
