mary todd lincoln HOUSE Mission

We cultivate public interest in the multilayered past by sharing the stories of a woman whose lived experience continues to resonate today.

About the Mary Todd Lincoln House

The Mary Todd Lincoln House, located on West Main Street in downtown Lexington, Kentucky, was the family home of the future wife of the sixteenth President of the United States. In 1977, the girlhood home opened to the public and became the first house museum in the country to honor a first lady.

Originally built between 1803-1806 to serve as an inn, the property became the Todd family home of in 1832. Daughter Mary Todd, born in December 1818, lived here until she moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1839 to live with her older sister. There she met and married Abraham Lincoln, whom she brought to visit this home in November 1847.

In the Todds' day, the property contained separate outbuildings, including an outdoor kitchen with slave quarters, wash house, smoke house, and stables with a carriage house. Unfortunately, no evidence of the outbuildings remains. The Todds also had a large garden, now partially restored.

The Todd family lived here until patriarch Robert S. Todd’s death in 1849. Legal disputes in the Todd family led to a public auctions, with the contents of the house sold in 1849 and the house itself sold in 1852. After the Todds moved out, the property had many uses, including a boarding house, a grocery store, and even a brothel. By the 1950s, the structure, in poor shape, was being used for storage. In 1977, led by Beula C. Nunn, the house was restored and opened to the public as a museum.

Today, the home is used to tell the remarkable story of Mary Todd Lincoln to thousands of visitors from around the world, featuring family portraits and furnishings from the Todd and Lincoln families. View more photographs.

About Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation

Kentucky Mansions Preservation Foundation (KMPF) is a 501c3 tax-exempt organization founded in 1968 to protect the unique history of Kentucky.  Under the leadership of the Kentucky's First Lady, Beula C. Nunn, the Foundation’s first project was the restoration of the Governor’s Mansion in Frankfort. The second project was the restoration of White Hall in Madison County. White Hall was the home of Cassius Marcellus Clay, emancipationist, legislator, and Ambassador to Russia under Abraham Lincoln. White Hall was transferred to Kentucky State Parks after its restoration.

KMPF opened the Mary Todd Lincoln House to the public as a museum in 1977 after an extensive fundraising and restoration effort. The real property that comprises the Mary Todd Lincoln House is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and leased to KMPF through a unique 99-year lease agreement. KMPF is entirely responsible for the preservation and operation of the Mary Todd Lincoln House and does not receive regular financial support from the government. KMPF depends primarily on earned income from admissions, store sales, and membership dues to preserve and operate the museum.