I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
This is a great space to write long text about your company and your services. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. Talk about your team and what services you provide. Tell your visitors the story of how you came up with the idea for your business and what makes you different from your competitors. Make your company stand out and show your visitors who you are.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
This is a great space to write long text about your company and your services. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. Talk about your team and what services you provide. Tell your visitors the story of how you came up with the idea for your business and what makes you different from your competitors. Make your company stand out and show your visitors who you are.
I'm a paragraph. Click here to add your own text and edit me. It’s easy. Just click “Edit Text” or double click me to add your own content and make changes to the font. Feel free to drag and drop me anywhere you like on your page. I’m a great place for you to tell a story and let your users know a little more about you.
This is a great space to write long text about your company and your services. You can use this space to go into a little more detail about your company. Talk about your team and what services you provide. Tell your visitors the story of how you came up with the idea for your business and what makes you different from your competitors. Make your company stand out and show your visitors who you are.
Home
Welcome to the Buffalo Presidential Center!
Besides Washington, D.C., Buffalo is the city with the most connections to the 45 men who have served as president.
Millard Fillmore (1850-53) and Grover Cleveland (1885-89 and 1893-97) each made their reputations in Buffalo before being elected president. There were two processions to honor Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, and Lincoln's funeral train stopped in Buffalo on April 27, 1865. William McKinley was assassinated at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1901, and eight days later, his Vice-President, Theodore Roosevelt, took the oath of office at the Wilcox Mansion on Delaware Avenue.
With visits from nearly every president for the past 140 years, Western New York is rich in presidential history. The Buffalo Presidential Center commemorates and celebrates these connections, with an eye toward history.
We are an all-volunteer, non-profit organization chartered by New York State to explore and share stories about Western New York’s historic and contemporary contributions to the Presidency and national affairs.
The Buffalo Presidential Center operates a museum on the second floor of the Central Library free of charge. We also travel throughout Western New York, presenting public programs and exhibits. If you’re interested in learning more about our topics, or hosting a speaker for your group, please visit the Speaker's Bureau tab.
Buffalo Presidential Center
2nd floor of the Buffalo and Erie County Library
1 Lafayette Square
Buffalo, N.Y. 14203
Hours of operation:
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. every Saturday
© photo by Steven D. Desmond
Upcoming Events:
To celebrate America 250, we are sizzling with exciting programs this summer. Come in and cool off, or be a guest at one of our many off-site events!
Visit the Buffalo Presidential Center before the Taste of Buffalo!
Tim Garfield
Death by Lightning
a presentation by Tim Garfield
Wednesday, August 5, 6 p.m. at the Buffalo Presidential Center
Please note: starting time has been moved to 6 p.m.!
Join Tim Garfield, the great-great grandson of President James Garfield and director of the Garfield Trail in Ohio, as he explores facts, myths, and insights about the President's life. He will also discuss the popular Netflix docudrama Death by Lightning, which premiered last fall and was named one of the best television shows of the year by the American Film Institute.
Death by Lightning, based on Candice Millard’s 2011 book Destiny of the Republic, focuses on the election of James Garfield in 1880, and his brief presidency. Garfield served only 200 days before being assassinated in Washington D.C.
President Harry Truman, left, "waxes" philosophically with trustee Tim Breen.
Presidential Peculiarities: Weird, Wild,
and Wonderful Facts About America's Presidents
Thursday, August 6, 6:30 p.m. at the Delevan-Yorkshire Public Library
Join trustee Tim Breen for a fun and fascinating look at the strange, surprising, and often hilarious stories behind America's commanders in chief, discussing presidential pets, odd hobbies, funny mishaps, strange traditions, and little-known facts that reveal the human side of America's leaders.
Presidential Descendants in Conversation
Thursday, August 13, 6-8 p.m. at the Buffalo History Museum. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at the link below.
Join Tweed Roosevelt, the great-grandson of Theodore Roosevelt, and Massee McKinley, a descendant of Grover Cleveland and William McKinley, as they discuss their unique connections to presidents and American History.
Co-sponsored by the Buffalo Presidential Center, the Buffalo History Museum and the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site.
Click here to purchase tickets!
Autumn Events:
We continue to celebrate America 250 with educational programs for young and not-so-young history lovers!
3 x 5: a Presidential History Program
Three speakers — a presidential historian, a high school student, and an elementary or middle schooler — will deliver five educational programs about American history and the presidency. Main topics include:
Presidential Peculiarities: Weird, Wild, and Wonderful Facts
About America's Presidents
Tim Breen, trustee, the Buffalo Presidential Center
11 a.m., October 3, 2026
Love, Hate, and Manipulation: Presidents and the Media
Jeff Schober, trustee, the Buffalo Presidential Center
11 a.m., November 21, 2026
Dynamic Duos: Women of the White House
Christopher Falgiano, A.P. U.S. History Teacher, Frontier High School
11 a.m., January 23, 2027
17 Deadly Days: Gerald Ford Eluded an Assassin’s Bullet — Twice
Jeff Schober, trustee, the Buffalo Presidential Center
11 a.m., February 27, 2027
Presidents and America’s Pastime: How Baseball Influenced the Oval Office
Tim Breen, trustee, the Buffalo Presidential Center
11 a.m., March 20, 2027
In addition to the main topics listed above, each program examines two additional interesting issues, delivered by young scholars. Click here for information about how to become a student presenter.
Where: The Buffalo Presidential Center, second floor, the Central Library.
Events are free and open to all. We invite everyone to join us, from elementary students to octogenarians, and anywhere in between.
Homeschool History Hustle
Fall 2026
We invite homeschool students to visit our museum on the second floor of the Central Library for one, two, or all three of our weekday autumn offerings. Each event will last approximately 75 minutes and include in-person readings, discussions about select presidents’ successes and failures, and ties to New York State history. Parents are welcome to stay, or students may be dropped off while parents and toddlers explore other parts of the library. Our classes are geared toward kids ages 10-15 and will be active, educational, and fun!
Tuesday, September 29
10-11:15 a.m.
The Empire State in the 19th Century: Two Presidents and a First Lady
Students will learn details and historical context about Martin Van Buren, Grover Cleveland, and Frances Folsom Cleveland.
Tuesday, October 13
10-11:15 a.m.
Civil Rights in New York
Students will learn how the presidency of Millard Fillmore impacted the Civil War; area ties to the Anti-Slavery Movement, and local landmarks that help tell the story of emancipation.
Thursday, October 29
10-11:15 a.m.
The Roosevelts of New York
Students will learn about Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt, First Ladies Edith and Eleanor Roosevelt, Alice Roosevelt, their ties to New York State, and how they impacted the presidency.
Each event is free, with a recommended donation is $10 per student. For questions, information, or to register, email Jeff Schober at jeffschober@hotmail.com.
Current exhibit: Uncle Sam, Symbol of Patriotism
Uncle Sam’s origins are disputed, but the name is associated with Sam Wilson, a businessman who supplied the army during the War of 1812. His barrels were stamped "U.S." for the government, leading him to be nicknamed "Uncle Sam."
Cartoonist and illustrator Thomas Nast popularized Uncle Sam as thin, tall, with an angular face, tousled long hair, goatee, high hat, striped pantaloons, swallow-tailed coat and gaudy vest, his friendly figure almost always emanating a proper dignity and morality.
Then artist James Montgomery Flagg picked up the mantle. The image of a relatively nice guy was followed by angry, graphic illustrations during the World Wars I and II.
Visit the Buffalo Presidential Center to learn more about the history of Uncle Sam.
"Buffalo is full of inspiration! Next to Washington, the richest presidential history of any city."
— Brady Carlson, NPR host and author of Dead Presidents: An American Adventure into the Strange Deaths and Surprising Afterlives of our Nation's Leaders
© photo by Steven D. Desmond