Just over 100 years ago, a 57-year-old man stepped off a train in Meacham at 9 a.m.

He wore a badge listing his name but to the thousands of people greeting him there he needed no introduction.

The individual was Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, and the date was July 2, 1923.

Harding arrived to participate in a pageant commemorating the Oregon Trail. About 80 years earlier the first wagon train had traveled through the area.

Harding dedicated the Oregon Trail site that day and also a highway under construction that ran through the community. More than 15,000 people, who had gathered at an outdoor amphitheater, came to see Harding.

The audience included members of several Native American groups, including the Cayuse. Following a powwow that Harding attended, the Cayuse declared Harding a full-fledged member of their tribe.

No major incidents of violence were reported to mar Harding’s stay, although it was reported that two “nationally known pickpockets were arrested at Meacham,” according to a May 18, 1995, story in The Observer.

Prior to his appearance, it was announced that Harding’s party would include not only P.K. Gilbert, speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, but also Herbert Hoover, secretary of commerce, who in 1928 would be elected president.

Reports on Harding’s visit did not indicate if these people actually accompanied the president during his time in Northeastern Oregon.

Harding’s visit was first announced in early June 1923.

“This is an exceptional pleasure and privilege. Remember the USA is a big country and Warren G. Harding is just one man,” The Observer editorialized on June 7, 1923. “Think of what it means to actually have the president of this great nation spend a day with us on top of the mountain. It’s great. It’s glorious.”

Harding stayed at Meacham until 5:20 p.m., more than two hours longer than he expected to.

The East Oregonian reported that Harding was planning on leaving Meacham at 3 p.m. because he wanted to stop somewhere that afternoon for a round of golf.

Harding’a late departure, apparently, was because he enjoyed his visit so much, according to the East Oregonian.

Harding’s train later stopped in Pendleton, where he made an unscheduled address to between 1,500 and 2,000 people.

An article in the July 4, 1923, East Oregonian said that people were impressed with the president’s down-home nature. In fact, the article reported, many people came away from their visit saying, “Why President and Mrs. Harding are just folks.”

Harding was in the midst of a tour of the western United States that started on June 20. He died a month after his stop in Meacham, in San Francisco on Aug. 2. Many historians believe he died as a result of a heart problem, according to the National Constitution Center’s website.