President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home

Infobox protected area | name = President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home
iucn_category = V

---

caption =
locator_x = 240
locator_y = 76
location = Washington, D.C., USA
nearest_city =
lat_degrees = 38
lat_minutes = 56
lat_seconds = 30
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 77
long_minutes = 0
long_seconds = 42
long_direction = W
area = 2.3 acres (9,300 m²)
established = July 7, 2000
visitation_num =
visitation_year =
governing_body = Armed Forces Retirement Home, National Trust for Historic Preservation

President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home preserves historic structures of the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home (now part of the Armed Forces Retirement Home), located in the Petworth and Park View neighborhoods of Washington, D.C. The project came to fruition largely due to the efforts of Major Robert Anderson, Jefferson Davis, (at that time Secretary of War), and General Winfield Scott. They wanted to provide a secure and honorable place for retirement for homeless and disabled war veterans. The Home was founded in 1851 following the Mexican-American War. It sits adjacent to two historic cemeteries, Rock Creek Cemetery and United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery (the forerunner of Arlington National Cemetery).

President Abraham Lincoln and family resided seasonally on the grounds of the Home to escape the heat and political pressure of Washington, as did President James Buchanan before him. The historic Lincoln Cottage, built in the Gothic revival style, was constructed from 1842 to 1843 as the home of George Washington Riggs, who went on to establish the Riggs National Bank in Washington, D.C. Lincoln lived in the cottage June to November 1862 through 1864. Lincoln wrote the second draft of the Emancipation Proclamation here. Mary Todd Lincoln fondly recalled the campus; in 1865, she wrote, "How dearly I loved the Soldiers' Home."

The Soldiers' and Airmen's Home stood on 251 acres atop the third highest point in Washington. The Home was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 7, 1973, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 1974. In 2000 the cottage was named one of the 11 Most Endangered on the National Trust's list. Then about 2.3 acres (9,300 m²) of the Home was proclaimed a National Monument by President Bill Clinton on July 7, 2000. It is managed through a cooperative agreement between the Armed Forces Retirement Home and the National Trust for Historic Preservation in consultation with the National Park Service.

President Lincoln's Cottage opened to the public on February 18, 2008, as a National Trust historic site. A reproduction of the Lincoln desk on which he wrote the Emancipation Proclamation was commissioned by the Trust for use in the Cottage at a cost of $21,999.99. The original drop-lid walnut paneled desk is in the White House in the Lincoln Bedroom. The desk is the only surviving piece of furniture, that is known to have been placed in the White House and the Cottage, during the Lincoln era. It was placed in the second floor Emancipation room.

The adjacent Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center features exhibits about the Soldiers' Home, wartime Washington, D.C., Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief during the Civil War and a special exhibit gallery.

The Lincoln cottage also served as the summer White House for Presidents James Buchanan, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Chester A. Arthur. [ [http://www.thefreelibrary.com/The+Armed+Forces+Retirement+Home:+the+history--and+future--of+caring+...-a0158628350 The Armed Forces Retirement Home: the history-and future-of caring for our veterans. - Free Online Library ] ]

ee also

* United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home National Cemetery
* Architecture of the U.S. Soldiers' Home

References

*"Preservation" Vol 59, Number 1, Jan/Feb 2007, page 6

External links

* Official website: [http://www.lincolncottage.org/ President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home]
* [http://www.afrh.gov/afrh/wash/washcampus.htm Armed Forces Retirement Home: Washington, D.C.]
* [http://www.preservationnation.org/travel-and-sites/sites/southern-region/lincolns-cottage.html National Trust: President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument]
* [http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2001_cfr_3v1&docid=3CFR7329 Presidential Proclamation 7329 of July 7, 2000]
* [http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1506&ResourceType=District National Historic Landmark information]
* [http://www.lincolncottage.org/about/photo_aerial.htm Aerial view of exterior restoration of Lincoln Cottage at the Soldiers' Home]
* [http://tour.cua.edu/heritage/history/founding/lincoln.cfm Letters from Mary Todd Lincoln]
* [http://home.att.net/~rjnorton/Lincoln86.html The Shot Through Abraham Lincoln's Hat]