
Then-Vice President Richard Nixon gives a whistle-stop speech for Dwight D. Eisenhower on Oct. 8, 1952.
Courtesy of Allen County Historical Society
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Read more about the 200th anniversary of Allen County at LimaOhio.com/tag/200.
Many United States presidents have come through Allen County:
• Feb. 23, 1860: Candidate Abraham Lincoln’s train passed through Lima.
• Sept. 9, 1879.: President Rutherford B. Hayes stopped for lunch at the French House.
• Dec. 24, 1879.: President Ulysses S. Grant stopped over during a train trip and had his portrait taken at Krauss Photo Gallery.
• Oct. 20, 1899: Presidential Candidate William Jennings Bryan held a political meeting on the Public Square.
• May 5, 1901: President William McKinley’s train passed through Lima.
• Sept. 21, 1902: President Theodore Roosevelt’s train passed through Lima.
• May 11, 1905: President Theodore Roosevelt’s train passed through Lima.
• Feb. 12, 1911: President William Howard Taft’s train stopped in Lima on his way to Washington, D.C. He appeared on the platform and spoke to residents for a few minutes.
• Oct. 30, 1911: President Taft’s train stopped in Lima on the way from Chicago to Pittsburgh. The train stopped at 10:29 p.m. but the president had “retired.”
• May 16, 1912: President Teddy Roosevelt was in a parade through Lima, speaking at Memorial Hall.
• Oct. 4, 1916: President Woodrow Wilson’s train made a whistle-stop.
• Oct. 19, 1920: Vice presidential candidate Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke at Memorial Hall.
• Oct. 28, 1944: President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s train passed through Lima.
• June 4, 1948: President Harry Truman’s train passed through Lima.
• Oct. 11, 1948: President Harry Truman’s train stopped in Lima for 12 minutes.
• Oct. 8, 1952: Then-Vice President Richard Nixon gave a whistle-stop speech for Dwight Eisenhower.
• Oct. 26, 1960: Presidential candidate Richard Nixon spoke to a crowd of 35,000 on the Square.
• May 2, 1962: Former President Dwight Eisenhower’s train passed through Lima unannounced on its way from Kansas to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. A waitress and her cousin got his autograph.
• Oct. 22, 1968: President Richard Nixon gave a speech in the Square to 12,000.
• June 7, 1976: President Gerald Ford gave a 35-minute speech at Lazarus.
• Oct. 15, 1980: Candidate Ronald Reagan gave a 24-minute speech to 10,000 on the Square.
• Oct. 12, 1984: President Ronald Reagan gave a 20-minute speech.
• Oct. 15, 1986: Presidential candidate George H. Bush spoke at the Allen County Airport.
• Oct. 27, 1992: President George H. Bush stayed at the Holiday Inn and is greeted by 2,500 at the airport.
• Oct. 24, 2003: President George W. Bush arrives by helicopter for a 35-minute speech at General Dynamics to 3,500.
• Aug. 28, 2004: President George W. Bush holds a campaign rally at Lima Senior High School.
• Feb. 24, 2008: Former President Bill Clinton campaigns for wife Hillary at Lima Senior.
• Aug. 31, 2008: Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama quietly comes to Lima and attends a religious service at downtown’s St. Luke Lutheran Church before heading up Interstate 75 for a rally in Toledo.
• Nov. 11, 2012: President Barack Obama arrives via Air Force One and speaks to 3,800 at Lima Senior.
• March 20, 2019: President Donald Trump tours the Joint Systems Manufacturing Center.
• Sept. 22, 2o19: President Donald Trump flies into the Allen County Airport for a tour of Pratt Industries in Wapakoneta.
