The Petersens and their Home, 1849-1865

Before the Lincoln assassination, the Petersen House was just a house-another place for boarders to stay while living in Washington City. But after President Abraham Lincoln died in one of its rooms, the building became a destination for tourists, securing its place in history. For years, it functioned as a Lincoln museum. Then demand came to restore the interior to its 1865-era appearance. Although the building is remembered as the place where Lincoln died, it now helps to keep Lincoln's legacy alive.

William Petersen, a German tailor, purchased the lot in 1849 and built a four-story house. He lived here with his family but rented extra rooms to lodgers. During the Civil War, up to 21 people at once lived in its rooms.

Born in Germany in 1816, William Petersen immigrated to the United States with his wife, Anna, on June 23, 1841. A tailor by trade, he earned a substantial fortune during the Civil War by making high-quality uniforms for officers. He and his wife remained in the house until their deaths in 1871.

Born in Germany in 1819, Anna Kloman Petersen immigrated to the United States alongside her husband when she was 23. She and William had 10 children together, five of whom survived to adulthood. She was away at the time of the assassination but returned the next morning to find that the President had died in her home. She and William died within months of each other.

On April 14, 1865, after John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln, Lincoln was carried out of the theatre and into a boarding house across the street. The celebratory night quickly turned into an overnight vigil as people gathered outside the house. The doctor at Lincoln's bedside updated the crowd each hour on the president's condition. His final update came at 7:22 a.m. on April 15, 1865: the president had died.

During the president's final hours, he was surrounded by his wife, Mary, and various U.S. government officials. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton turned one of the rooms into an interrogation area, interviewing witnesses about what happened inside the theatre.

Some state Lincoln haunts Ford's Theatre but his apparition is seen more often at the Petersen House across the street where he died. His ghost is also seen at the White House.

Witnesses have reported hearing gunshots, screams, and footsteps in the theater, and sightings of Lincoln's ghostly apparition are said to happen fairly regularly at the Petersen House which lies across the street. Though shot at Ford's Theater, Lincoln actually died at the Petersen House.