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The Cottage
On a hill overlooking downtown Washington is a cottage built for George W. Riggs around 1842. Architect John Skirving designed the house in the Gothic-Revival style popularized by A.J. Downing. In 1851, the estate was sold to the Federal Government, which purchased it in order to found a home for veteran soldiers. During the Civil War, President Lincoln lived in …
Read MoreFormer First Lady Laura Bush Endorses Cottage Exhibit
By Alison Mitchell Mrs. Laura Bush, a Trustee and vocal supporter of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, first visited President Lincoln’s Cottage in November 2007 prior to our Grand Opening. Mrs. Bush recently endorsed our latest exhibit, Can Your Walk Away?, stating: “This is the ideal year to visit President Lincoln’s Cottage, the very place where Lincoln nurtured and …
Read MoreNew Exhibit Now Open!
President Lincoln’s Cottage is proud to announce that the temporary exhibit, Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times opened yesterday in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center. On loan from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, this exhibit will be open until November 14, 2011. More books have been written about Lincoln than …
Read MoreNew Discoveries and Preservation Projects at the Cottage
By Jeffrey Larry Every so often a new discovery allows us to better understand not only what the Cottage looked like during Lincoln’s time but how it changed and looked at other times during its long architectural history. Recently we discovered a circa 1860 painted photograph of Janet Riggs, the wife of original owner George Riggs, standing in front of …
Read MoreRepointing of the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center
By Jeffrey Larry The rehabilitation of the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center (VEC) at President Lincoln’s Cottage was completed in January, 2008. Though the deterioration of mortar joints on the building was mentioned in pre-construction proposals, no extensive repairs to mortar joints were undertaken. It was believed that repairs to roofing and flashing were sufficient in addressing areas of …
Read MoreA Sanctuary
By Shira Gladstone It was during this time of year, in 1862, 1863, and 1864, when President Lincoln, his wife Mary, and youngest son Tad moved out to the Soldiers’ Home for the summer and early Fall seasons. This past week’s heat wave reminds us of one of the reasons why President Lincoln was so fond of being at the …
Read MoreFirst Deaf Appreciation Day at the Cottage a Success!
By Katie Needham On Saturday, June 5, 2010, President Lincoln’s Cottage had visitors from all over the D.C. metropolitan area come to its first ever Deaf Appreciation Day. Throughout the day, visitors enjoyed guided tours of the Cottage which included American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. These ASL tours were reserved exclusively for deaf and hearing-impaired visitors and began with the …
Read MoreNew Director Appointed at President Lincoln’s Cottage
April 12, 2010. The National Trust for Historic Preservation is pleased to announce that Erin Carlson Mast has been promoted to Director of President Lincoln’s Cottage, effective April 1. Erin has served ably as Acting Director since January 2010. Erin has held increasingly responsible positions at the Cottage for the past seven years, most recently serving as Curator and Site …
Read MoreTechnology, Web 2.0, & Historic Sites: Strategies for Engagement
Last week, Erin Carlson Mast, Curator of President Lincoln’s Cottage, presented on strategies for historic site blogging and other social media as part of a session on web 2.0 and new technology at historic sites at the American Association for State and Local History annual conference in Indianapolis last week. The session was organized by Craig Tuminaro, Director of Museum Interpretation at …
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