President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldier's Home National Monument, District of Columbia

Lincoln Cottage, Washington, DC, in 2009
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_Cottage_2009.jpg
Author: Hal Jespersen


President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldier's Home National Monument is a historic site in the Petworth and Park View neighborhoods of Washington, DC. It preserves the family resident of President Abraham Lincoln. The house is located within Soldier's Home, known today as the Armed Forces Retirement Home, and was formerly known as Anderson Cottage. Today it is called President Lincoln's Cottage.

The historic cottage was built between 1842 and 43 in the Gothic revival style for George Washington Riggs, who later founded the Riggs National Bank in Washington DC. It was used by President James Buchanan from 1857 to 1861, then Lincoln, then President Rutherford B. Hayes from 1877 to 1881, and by President Chester A. Arthur from 1881 to 1885. The presidents used it as their Summer White House, to escape the heat - not to mention the political pressure - of downtown Washington, DC.

Lincoln Cottage, during restoration of 2007
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lincoln_Cottage_2007.jpg
Author: Mvincec


It was in this house that Lincoln created the preliminary draft of the Emancipation Proclamation. It was made a National Historic Landmark on 7 November, 1973, and added to the National Register of Historic Places on 11 February, 1974. In 2000, it was added to the list of 11 Most Endangered structures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, leading to the proclamation of the 2.3-acre site as a national monument by President Clinton on 7 July, 2000. This is one of the smallest national monument in area within the National Monument system.

Lincoln's Cottage underwent restoration which was completed in 2007, and is open to the public on 18 February, 2008.

Visiting President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldier's Home National Monument, District of Columbia

For details on visiting this site, visit www.lincolncottage.org, the official website. You can join special tours of the site. Tickets for the tours are priced at $12 per person aged 13 and above, and $5 for children aged 6 to 12.

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