Van Buren’s 1839 purchase of the fine eighteenth-century house and farm he renamed Lindenwald reflected his rise from tavern-keeper’s son to prominent gentleman. While the fields and orchards of Lindenwald were bountiful, the elegant home also became a place where he cultivated important political relationships. During his 21 years of residency, a steady stream of politicians, celebrities, and businessmen visited, including Kentucky Senator Henry Clay in 1849. Van Buren ran twice more for the presidency while living there. He nearly regained the Democratic Party nomination in 1844, losing on the ninth ballot to James K. Polk largely because he opposed the immediate annexation of Texas. That disappointment led him to run a third-party campaign in 1848 for the Free Soil Party, and much of the strategizing for both candidacies took place inside the large, quirky home, especially around the main hall’s large dining table. His Free Soil candidacy formed part of the growing political turmoil of the 1840s and 1850s, as the slogan “free soil, free labor, free speech, free men” expressed the desire to unite citizens who opposed the extension of slavery westward while the threat of Civil War loomed. Van Buren did not expect to win the presidency in 1848, but he had become convinced of the need to make a dramatic political statement about the nation’s future.