Petersen's Boarding House

History: After Lincoln was shot by Booth, three doctors and several soldiers in the audience carried the President out of the front entrance of Ford's Theatre.

Across the street, Henry Safford, a boarder at William Petersen’s Boarding House, held a lantern and directed the men to bring the President over. The men carried Lincoln into the first-floor bedroom where they laid him diagonally across the bed, because he was too tall to fit lengthwise on the bed.

Mary Lincoln was understandably distraught during this time and sobbed throughout the ordeal. Though Lincoln was surrounded by physicians and even the Surgeon General of the United States, he was unable to be saved, and Lincoln died on April 15, 1865.  He was 56 years old. 

More to Explore: A trip to Washington, D.C. warrants a look at several other area museums. In the vicinity you will find the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the International Spy Museum, The Newseum, and The National Building Museum. Shopping, dining and entertainment are a step away in Chinatown at Gallery Place. Take a tour of the National Mall where you can visit tributes to our nation’s heroes, like the Lincoln Memorial, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.

Photo Credits:
   1. “The Death Bed of Lincoln” Courtesy of The Alfred Whital Stern Collection of Lincolniana.
   2. “The Room in Petersen House where Lincoln died” Courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith.
   3. “Petersen House where Lincoln was carried and died” Courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith.