Location

Located on a picturesque hilltop, President Lincoln's Cottage and Soldiers’ Home National Monument is the most significant historic site directly associated with Lincoln’s presidency aside from the White House.

During the Civil War, Lincoln resided seasonally on the grounds of the federally-owned Soldiers’ Home, just over three miles north of the Capitol. From June through November of 1862 through 1864, Lincoln and his family resided here, and Lincoln commuted daily by horseback or carriage from the Soldiers’ Home to the White House.

The Lincolns prized this breeze-swept pastoral refuge for its relative privacy yet proximity to Washington’s center. Lincoln engaged Cabinet members, political allies as well as family there, but it is most notable that he developed the policy of emancipation during his first season residing at the Soldiers’ Home.

Today, the Cottage gives Americans an intimate, never-before-seen view of Abraham Lincoln’s presidency and family life. Visitors hear stories of the many guests that met with President Lincoln at the Cottage while experiencing a new kind of historic house interpretation. In addition to President Lincoln’s Cottage, the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center adjacent to the Cottage, features related exhibits and media presentations.

In cooperation with the Armed Forces Retirement Home, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has preserved and restored President's Lincoln Cottage to become the premier historic site for public education about the Lincoln presidency.

Tickets are required and may be purchased in advance.