William Petersen House: President Lincoln died in this house the morning after being shot across the street at Ford's Theatre.

Located directly across the street from Ford's Theatre, the William Petersen House was built in 1849. On April 14, 1865, doctors and soldiers rushed to find a comfortable place to tend to the dying President Abraham Lincoln after he had been shot, and quickly found the house of tailor William Petersen. After surviving through the night, President Lincoln died in the Petersen House on the morning of April 15th.

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 the 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 Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site and Ford's Theatre National Historic Site

This site is listed on the Haunted History of DC Tour. While not explicitly “haunted”, many visitors to the Peterson House feel a heavy sadness when entering the room where President Abraham Lincoln died on the morning of April 15, 1865. Lincoln was brought here following the shooting, just across the street, at Ford’s Theatre. Outside on the street in front of Peterson House, people have reported hearing the screams and cries of witnesses to the assassination.