Behind iron gates in D.C.’s bustling Petworth neighborhood is one of the city’s most fascinating, historic places.
On the picturesque grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home sits President Lincoln’s Cottage — a national monument, where Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president spent one-quarter of his presidency and where he worked on the Emancipation Proclamation.
“He came here, originally, we think to seek solitude and to get away from the hubbub and the constant demands put on his time. It was a space for him to be with his family. He had lost his son Willie and he and Mary and Tad (Lincoln’s youngest son) came here in an attempt to grieve and in an attempt to recover some normality,” said Michael Atwood Mason, CEO and executive director of President Lincoln’s Cottage.
The cottage is a museum and the grounds include a visitor center. Currently on display in the Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center is an exhibit on grief, where visitors have left remembrances of lost loved ones.
President and Mrs. Lincoln spent summers at the airy cottage, escaping the heat and humidity of the White House about 4 miles away. They also retreated to the cottage following the February 1862 death of their 11-year-old son Willie at the White House, their second son to die of illness.
“That grief really followed them around … we wanted to explore that part of the experience because our culture is not particularly comfortable talking about grief, particularly grieving parents,” said Mason.
“Reflections on Grief and Child Loss” exhibit offers reflections on grief and the loss of a child and includes a display of contemporary losses including children lost to gun violence and to fentanyl poisoning.
In the center of the exhibit is a representation of a weeping willow tree, its branches laden with white leaves; people have been invited to write remembrances of their loved ones on the leaves.
“It’s quite intimate and that’s part of the power. In a certain way it embraces you, it holds you and allows you to connect with your own grief and hold your own grief,” said Mason.
While the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall is a fitting temple to one of the nation’s most beloved presidents, the cottage in Petworth is a reflection of Lincoln’s everyday life.
“Here we try and share Lincoln in all of his complexities, so we talk about grief, we talk about him playing checkers with his son and climbing into trees to get birds out of trees for his son … Our goal is to invite people into the real Lincoln, we want to share the real Lincoln in all of his complexity and richness,” said Mason.
LOCATION:
President Lincoln’s Cottage
140 Rock Creek Church Road NW
Washington, D.C. 20011
COST
Adults – $15
Children 6-12 – $5
Children under 12 – Free
Discounts for military, cottage members and National Trust for Historic Preservation Members
HOURS
Open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Advanced tickets recommended.
