A Tour of Ronald Reagan’s Boyhood Home in Dixon, Illinois
Dixon, Illinois is most famous for being the hometown location of 40th President, Ronald Reagan. The Reagan’s lived in the Dixon home for 3 years, between 1920-1923, making Ronald 9 at the time of move in. The house opened to the public in the mid 80’s. Tours currently run from April to October each year.
The house is located at 816 S. Hennepin Ave. Dixon, IL 61021. In 2002, when the house was named a National Historic site, the street was renamed Reagan Way.
Before the guided tour, you will watch a 10 minute video. Next, the tour guide will take you through each room of the Reagan house, giving information about Reagan’s early and later life. During the tour, I had the opportunity to learn plenty of new & interesting facts ( I never knew that Reagan was an announcer for the Chicago Cubs!)
None of the original furniture remains in the house, however, it has been remodeled to resemble the look of a 1920s residence. Take a look below at my photo gallery of the house.
The room that Ronald shared with his brother Neil.
This room was the Reagan guest bedroom, which they rented out occasionally. Ronald’s mother, Nelle, used it primarily for her sewing.
Mr. and Mrs. Reagan’s room
The bathroom was originally a closet. Look at the narrowness of the room!
The parlor room
The sitting room in the Reagan house. Ronald’s mother used to make popcorn all the time, as it was one of the few snacks of the time.
Ronald used to hide his money under the piece of broken tile by the parlor fireplace. Even though he wasn’t allowed in the parlor room, he was tall enough to reach the fireplace without stepping foot into the room.
On his visit to Dixon, Reagan told the story of his hiding place and placed pennies under a tile again. In the frame below, you can see the actual picture of Ronald putting the pennies down. The pennies displayed in the frame are authentic.
8 comments
They rented from Dec. 6 1920 to sometime in 1923. Only lived here about 2 years.
Neil Reagan stated they rented this house Dec. 6 1920 and moved sometime in 1923; they only lived here about 2 years.
The Reagan’s moved to this house which they rented on Dec. 6, 1920. If they moved sometime in1923, they only lived here about 2 years Brother, Neil also stated they lived here for 2 years.
Growing up in Dixon, and touring the house numerous times I can verify that the Reagan family lived in that house from 1920 – 1923, which if my calculations are correct is 3 years. If you don’t believe me you can check out the link below which is to the discover Dixon website page that talks about the house.
http://www.discoverdixon.org/reagan/reagans-roots.html
He may have lived in Dixon for more than three years but he only lived at that location for 3 years so the author is correct.
Didn’t he move to Dixon at the age of 9? He graduated from Dixon and was a lifeguard at Lowell Park……. so he certainly lived there longer than three years
He lived there longer than 3 years….. more like 13, right?
Hi,
I would like to know when you do your tours? My Uncle is coming in from ohio, his name is Ted Chaplik, and President Reagan was his all time favorite! He has always been amazed with him.
I would love to be able to have him do a walk through of his home..
You will see tears… He was so passionate about him, still is.
Thank you, and I can be reached at 815-677-9121
or my cell 920-819-6888. He will be here Oct., 11, 12th and 13th. But we have bike runs going on for our Foundation “Visions of Hope Saturday and Sunday. So the only time we would have is Friday ? Can you help?
Thanks again, and God Bless,
Tricia Marshall
[…] Make sure to plan room for a tour of 4oth President Ronald Reagan’s childhood residence in Dixon, Illinois. Even though he only lived here for 3 years, he came back to visit frequently over the years. The tour guide will take you through each room of the house and provide a brief history of the family along with some interesting stories. To read my full experience and see more pictures, take a look at my full post. […]