Gerald Ford is buried at his Grand Rapids museum

Grand Rapids is the Michigan hometown of Gerald R. Ford, but there is a little more to that story than the usual “Michigan president” shorthand. Ford was born in Omaha in 1913 and moved to Grand Rapids as a baby. He attended local schools and the University of Michigan, practiced law in Grand Rapids, and represented western Michigan in the U.S. House for 13 terms before entering the White House.

Ford’s path to the presidency really was unique. The U.S. Senate says he is the only person to hold both the vice presidency and presidency without being elected to either office. President Richard Nixon nominated him for vice president under the Twenty-fifth Amendment after Spiro Agnew resigned. Congress confirmed him in 1973, and Ford became the 38th president when Nixon resigned in August 1974.

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum sits downtown beside the Grand River. Its exhibits cover the Ford presidency and include an Oval Office display. President Ford and First Lady Betty Ford are buried on the museum grounds, and the gravesites have their own public-access hours.

The name can be confusing because the museum and library are in different cities. The museum and gravesites are at 303 Pearl Street NW in Grand Rapids. The presidential library, which holds the administration’s records and serves researchers, is on Beal Avenue in Ann Arbor. The National Archives runs them as one institution, so use its current visit page to check the right location, hours, and admission before you go.