Petersen House
Abraham Lincoln died in this house the morning after being shot across the street at Ford's Theatre.
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Located directly across the street from Ford's Theatre, the Petersen House was built in 1849. On April 14, 1875, doctors and soldiers rushed to find a comfortable place to tend to the dying President Lincoln after he had been shot and found the house of tailor William Petersen quickly. After surviving through the night, Lincoln died in the Petersen House on the morning of April 15.
Petersen himself died in 1871, and in 1893 the house was occupied by the District of Columbia Memorial Association, formed to honor the martyred president. Congress purchased the property shortly thereafter, in 1896, and for years it housed the Oldroyd collection of Lincolniana. In 1933, along with Ford's Theatre, the Petersen House was transferred to National Park Service. It was restored in 1959 to its appearance at the time of Lincoln's death.
DC Inventory: November 8, 1964 (Joint Committee on Landmarks)
National Register: October 15, 1966
Within Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
