Abraham Lincoln Cottage - Washington, D.C.

President Lincoln’s cottage is located at Rock Creek Church Road, on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C.  The Gothic Revival Style cottage was completed in 1843 for George Washington Riggs, the president of Riggs National Bank.  In 1862 Abraham Lincoln began occupying the home during the summer months as a retreat from the congested seasonal and political environment in downtown D.C.  Lincoln is said to have begun work on the Emancipation Proclamation during his first summer here.  He and his family would return here in 1863 and 1864, to what was known then as the Soldiers’ Home.  The cottage initially was used by President James Buchanan from 1857 to 1861 and later by Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur.  The home was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.  In 2000 restoration was begun on the cottage and completed in 2007, returning the house to its appearance at the time of Lincoln’s residence here.  The cottage is now open as a museum.

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