Slavery is founded in the selfishness of man’s nature – opposition to it, in his love of justice.

Abraham Lincoln, 1854

President Lincoln and his family spent the difficult Civil War summers of 1862-1864 living in this gothic revival cottage on the grounds of the Soldiers’ Home with the President commuting daily to the White House on horseback or by carriage.

Living at the Soldiers’ Home was a constant reminder of the human cost of war and President Lincoln was determined that the stakes and loss were not to be in vain.

A tour of the Cottage is interspersed with stories of his visits with invited and uninvited guests, his struggle to keep the country intact, and his careful strategies to do what he could to plant the seeds of freedom so that all were free to labor, benefit from the fruits of their labor and care for themselves and their families.   A picture is presented of a president carrying the weight of a divided republic and the grave implications of his actions.

It was here that President Lincoln formulated the Emancipation Proclamation, the document that paved the way for the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States that abolished slavery, providing that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

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The Robert H. Smith Visitor Education Center, located across from President Lincoln’s Cottage,  is dedicated to telling the story of President Lincoln’s life and work during the Civil War and of the Emancipation Proclamation with films, exhibits, artifacts, diary excerpts and a museum store rich with books, cards and crafts related to Abraham Lincoln, the Civil War and issues related to slavery and freedom.

With a mission to “bring the world to the cradle of the Emancipation Proclamation and connect with Lincoln through his untold stories,” the Center invites visitors to ‘meet the true Lincoln and continue his fight for freedom.”

Robert H. Smith Visitors Education Center

at Lincoln’s Cottage

140 Rock Creek Church Road, NW, Washington, DC 20011

GPS Coordinates: 38.9421031 -77.0133273

Note:  President Lincoln’s Cottage is located on the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) campus in Northwest Washington, D.C.   You can enter through the Eagle Gate, located at the intersection of Rock Creek Church Road NW and Upshur Street NW.

Telephone: 202-829-0436

Free admission to the Robert H. Smith Visitors Center museum store, exhibits and films.

Tickets are required for signature Cottage Tours

Hours of Operation:

M-Sat:  Visitors’ Center 9:30AM – 4:30PM;

Cottage Tours: 10AM – 3PM

Sunday: Visitor Center: 10:30AM – 4:30PM;

Cottage Tours: 11AM – 3PM

Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day