Saturday, April 27, 2024

A visit to The Petersen House, where President Abraham Lincoln died after being shot

petersen house

One of the most visited sites in the nation's capital, Ford's Theatre reopened its doors in 1968, more than a hundred years after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Operated through a partnership between Ford's Theatre Society and the National Park Service, Ford's Theatre is the premier destination in the nation's capital to explore and celebrate Abraham Lincoln's life and legacy. Located at th Street NW in downtown D.C., the National Park Service recounts the story of the Petersen House, which was once owned by William and Anna Petersen. William worked as a tailor and the couple took in boarders to earn extra money.

Ford's Theatre Society and National Park Service Announce Reopening of Petersen House and Aftermath Exhibits

“Since the Israel-Gaza war began, journalists have been paying the highest price — their lives — to defend our right to the truth. Each time a journalist dies or is injured, we lose a fragment of that truth,” CPJ Program Director Carlos Martínez de la Serna said in a statement. Protest organizers said they aimed to bring attention to the high numbers of Palestinian and other Arab journalists killed by Israel’s military since the war began in October. Enjoy the convenience of onsite parking at the museum, where your first 15 minutes are on us!

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An unassuming boarding house earned a spot in the history books as the place where President Abraham Lincoln spent his very last hours. The Petersen House, also known as the house where Lincoln died, is now part of the National Park Service and Ford’s Theatre Society, and visitors can step inside to experience the place where Lincoln took his final breath. Before the Lincoln assassination, the Petersen House was just a house—another place for boarders to stay while living in Washington City.

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He dedicated the rest of his life to collecting as many Lincoln-related objects as he could. He created and operated his own Lincoln museum in the Petersen House until his death in 1930. A well-known German-American attorney, Louis Schade, purchased the Petersen House in 1878 for $4,500. He used it as his home and as office space for his newspaper, The Washington Sentinel. While he and his family initially enjoyed living in the home, they eventually tired of the constant curious visitors and sold the building to the federal government in 1896.

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The Petersen House continued on as a boarding house and home for a time. Later, it became an office and a private museum before it was purchased in 1933 by the National Park Service, which has owned the building ever since. The back bedroom where Lincoln died is recreated in full (though the bed itself is now in a Chicago museum). Today, visitors can tour Ford's Theater and a museum and then cross the street to visit Petersen House and a shiny educational addition built in the adjoining rowhouse. There are only three rooms open to be viewed and although there were many people there, the line to get through the house moves very fast. It was well worth it to go just to see the sheer size of the rooms to put things into perspective.

Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to find out when we add new exhibits, events, offers and so much more. We had an amazing time at the Fords Theater and Petersen House Museums. There is just so much amazing history there that has been restored for future generations to witness. If you have been to these locations yourself, please let us know down in the comments section. According to the National Park Services, of the many depictions of the death scene, the following drawing is one that would be most accurate. If you would like to find out more about the history of the house, please watch our following video.

House Where Lincoln Died to Close for Renovations

One of the last surviving witnesses to Lincoln's death, Leale died in 1932 at the age of 90. Henry Reed Rathbone was a United States military officer and lawyer who was present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Although he recovered, Rathbone's mental state deteriorated afterwards, and in 1883, he murdered his wife, Clara, in a fit of madness, later being declared insane by doctors and living the rest of his life in a lunatic asylum. After being shot at Ford’s Theatre, Lincoln was carried across the street to Petersen House. Its three tiny, unassuming rooms create a moving personal portrait of the president's slow and tragic end.

On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln while the president was watching a performance from the Presidential Box at Ford’s Theatre. Ford’s Theatre Society purchased the 10-story building next to the Petersen House and in 2012 opened the Center for Education and Leadership, which explores the aftermath of the assassination and Lincoln’s impact on the world. Museum exhibitions focus on Lincoln’s funeral, the capture and prosecution of his killers, and his evolving legacy. Oldroyd’s Lincoln collection included items such as the Lincoln family Bible, Lincoln’s chair from his White House office, a log from his original home, photographs and newspapers, among other items.

petersen house

Petersen Visitors

According to Civil War historians, three of these five original flags are currently accounted for. Since 1933, the National Park Service has maintained Petersen House as a historical museum, recreating the scene at the time of Lincoln's death. The bed that Lincoln occupied and other items from the bedroom had been bought by Chicago collector Charles F. Gunther, and are now owned by and on display at the Chicago History Museum. [7] The bloodstained pillow and pillowcases are the ones used by Lincoln.

Edman "Ned" Spangler, baptized Edmund Spangler, was an American carpenter and stagehand who was employed at Ford's Theatre at the time of President Abraham Lincoln's murder on April 14, 1865. He and seven others were charged in conspiring to assassinate Lincoln and three other high level government officials. Even so, he was found guilty of helping Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, escape and sentenced to six years of hard labor.

The three rooms in the house today are furnished in 1865 period pieces, according to the NPS. The Interior Department decided to renovate the Petersen House to its appearance on the night of the assassination. Using photographs and drawings from Lincoln’s last night, those involved were able to produce a historically accurate restoration. Oldroyd brought the sofa at left from Lincoln’s family home in Springfield. Osborn Oldroyd, a Civil War veteran, became entranced with Abraham Lincoln during the 1860 presidential election.

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