Introduction: The Memory of McGuffey

McGuffey's Eclectic Readers were the most popular of the many schoolbooks that educated American children in the 19th century. They sold over 100 million copies and influenced generations of Americans. The influence of the Readers unarguably justifies some recognition of their impact on American society. Yet, William Holmes McGuffey, who gave his name to the Readers, has inspired acts of commemoration far greater than anyone in his own day might have imagined.

For more than 50 years, people who called themselves "McGuffeyites" gathered annually in Oxford, Ohio for a weekend in the summer to remember the man and his Readers.

In Oxford his face adorns a statue in front of a hall that carries his name. Across the street, his old house is now a museum in his honor and a National Historic Landmark.

A bronze plaque sits in a field in western Pennsylvania commemorating McGuffey's birthplace, which is also a National Historic Landmark. The house that once stood on the spot resides in Henry Ford's collection of Americana in Dearborn, Michigan.

Athens, Ohio still remembers the trees that McGuffey planted while President of Ohio University as the McGuffey Elms.

Even the tree under which he read to children on the campus of the University of Virginia was carved into a commemorative table.

These diverse acts of memory are a curious phenomenon. This site explores the McGuffey movement through primary documents, such as letters, speeches, pamphlets, books, articles, and photographs, to understand why McGuffeyites chose to remember William Holmes McGuffey.