Soldiers' Home

The cottage at Soldiers' Home was a refuge for the Lincolns during President Lincoln's first term in the White House. This house is one of several buildings that now make up one of America's oldest veteran military retirement homes that was first established in 1851. Lincoln wasn't the only president to reside here. Several presidents -- Chester Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James Buchanan -- all used Soldiers' Home as a summer retreat to avoid Washington, DC's oppressive humidity and heat due to its higher elevation in the city.

However, Lincoln stayed here the longest -- spending at least one fourth of his presidency at the cottage. His time at Soldiers' Home gave Lincoln the opportunity to visit with the wounded Union soldiers being treated there during the Civil War, as well as the peace and solitude to focus on important executive orders, such as the writing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, which proclaimed the freedom of more than 3 million slaves in the United States.