President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument
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| President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location: | Washington, D.C., USA |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 2.3 acres (9,300 m²) |
| Established: | July 7, 2000 |
| Governing body: | Armed Forces Retirement Home |
President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument preserves historic structures of the United States Soldiers' and Airmen's Home in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C., founded in 1851 for veterans of the Mexican-American War.
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 250 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.
The Lincoln Cottage will open to the public in Septmber of 2007, 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 $21,900.00. 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 to have been placed in the White House and the Cottage, during the Lincoln era. It will be placed in the second floor Emmancipation room.
The Lincoln cottage, also served as the summer White House for Presidents Chester A. Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes and James Buchanan. [1]
[edit] References
Preservation Vol 59, Number 1, Jan/Feb 2007, page 6
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official website: President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument
- Armed Forces Retirement Home: Washington, D.C.
- National Trust: President Lincoln and Soldiers' Home National Monument
- Presidential Proclamation 7329 of July 7, 2000
- National Historic Landmark information
- Aerial view of exterior restoration of Lincoln Cottage at the Soldiers' Home
- Letters from Mary Todd Lincoln
Categories: IUCN Category V | 2000 establishments | Abraham Lincoln | Buildings and monuments honoring American Presidents | Monuments and memorials in Washington, D.C. | National Historic Landmarks of the United States | National Monuments of the United States | Registered Historic Places in the District of Columbia | American military personnel
