Mary Todd Lincoln House
Mary Todd Lincoln House
4.5
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Monday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Tuesday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
About
Discover one of America's most fascinating first ladies during a visit to her girlhood home. The wife of President Abraham Lincoln grew up in this house. After their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln visited her family here. Today the home contains period furniture, portraits, and furnishings. The museum offers self-guided tours with limited capacity and timed entry. After the tour, guests are welcome to visit the Museum Store and the small garden. The property is located in downtown Lexington, Kentucky. Convenient walking distance to local hotels and restaurants. Free parking is located directly behind the house. Guests may park in the museum’s designated parking or in the neighboring lot behind Main Street Baptist Church. Metered parking also available on Main Street. Holiday schedule varies. Open seasonally March 15th - November 30th.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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from $16.35
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Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
761 reviews
Excellent
562
Very good
165
Average
26
Poor
6
Terrible
2
Jennie W
Indianapolis, IN3 contributions
Sep 2020 • Couples
The house if full of interesting insights into the lives of Mary Todd Lincoln and life in her time. The tour is not actually guided in the sense that a group all go through at the same time with a guide doing the talking. It is better. Due to COVID, visitors are invited into each room to privately peruse and can then ask questions of the guides. They also offer some information that isn't found on the exhibit cards. We enjoyed our visit very much. Very friendly, happy people. Wear your masks and enjoy. Takes about an hour to casually see it all. Cute gift shop outside.
Written September 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rum connoisseur 76’
Honolulu, HI611 contributions
May 2021 • Solo
The Mary Todd Lincoln House is an amazing little gem of history in Lexington! A beautifully restored/kept museum that dives into the history of the family of one of our nation’s greatest presidents. This museum is a must visit for anyone visiting the area. It’s a shame that it is now surrounded by the sprawl of Lexington, but nonetheless great that it’s being preserved!
Highly recommend!!!
Highly recommend!!!
Written May 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BillerinCO
Seymour, TN86 contributions
Mar 2021 • Couples
We visited and loved the house. The historians that worked there were amazing. They each talked to us about the house and the history of items and the Lincolns. It is a short tour an hour that you do on your own BUT the employees are right there to offer information and answer any questions that you may have! So glad that we went.
Written March 21, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LoveToTraval
Columbus, OH392 contributions
Aug 2021
This is where Mary Todd Lincoln lived as a child. Decor has been recreated to reflect the time period. I learned a lot about how difficult the Civil War was for her personally, because she supported the North, but had a brother fighting for the South.
Written September 29, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KTS1982
Kent, Washington27 contributions
Sep 2019
The tour staff of this house was amazing. He was so knowledgeable it made you feel as if he had lived with the Lincoln's during the time frame. Even the landscape is set us so nicely. We would actually go back to this house for another tour as there is so much to learn.
Written February 12, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
rnmassage
130 contributions
Jun 2021
We happened upon this place on our way back home from visiting the fabulous Abraham Lincoln Museum in Springfield, IL. So glad we saw it! This is the home where Mary Lincoln spent many years prior to marrying AL, and he visited her here several times. There are steps to climb, so be prepared, but it is a wonderful house. (There may be an elevator, but I don't think so). Nice book store in the back, with proceeds going to the upkeep of this wonderful site.
Written October 22, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Angie W
Largo, FL80 contributions
Jun 2021
I thought we would get more information on our tour. Didn’t realize you basically walk through the house and read some signs. If you have questions, you can ask one of the employees.
The house is pretty plain but nice to go through it. It looks like they still have some revamping to do to the house.
Plan ahead. Went today and they were sold out but we had called ahead. Some people could not get in. It isn’t a Covid restriction. It is a fire marshal restriction.
The house is pretty plain but nice to go through it. It looks like they still have some revamping to do to the house.
Plan ahead. Went today and they were sold out but we had called ahead. Some people could not get in. It isn’t a Covid restriction. It is a fire marshal restriction.
Written June 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
James G
Lexington, KY215 contributions
Nov 2017 • Solo
I enjoyed a very entertaining, educational guided tour today (Wednesday, November 8, 2017) of this house that Mary Todd Lincoln lived in for about seven or eight years before moving away. The tour guide, Tom, said she lived in this house with her family from age 13 to age 21. And after she moved away she (and Abraham Lincoln) came back to visit her family here, too.
My tour guide, Tom, knew much about the history of the house and the Todd/Lincoln family. He provided some interesting and fascinating details about the family background and the house. He also answered several questions from me and others on the tour.
A few of the items in the house date back to the Todd family, and the guide pointed those out (a table, two desks, paintings, a bed, etc.). Most of the remaining furnishings, though not original to the Todd family, seemed to date to the time period when they were alive.
The tour concluded with an opportunity to browse a bookstore/gift shop in what used to be the warming kitchen of the house.
For persons interested in history, especially the history of Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and their family, I strongly recommend trying to fit the tour into your schedule if in Lexington. The building includes restrooms on the lower level.
The back yard of the house is a garden that contains two plaques with information about Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln. Persons may take a self-guided tour of it free during hours the property is open.
The guided tour of the house took about an hour, including question and answer time. The group I was in began with only four of us, but grew to fourteen soon after we began due to late arrivals. The tours begin on the hour. But the late arrivals were allowed to take the beginning of the next tour to see the first room or two that they missed.
At the Lexington Visitors' Center on West Main Street just a few blocks from the Mary Todd Lincoln House, I purchased tickets to tour four historic homes (the Mary Todd Lincoln house, Ashland/the Henry Clay estate, Waveland, and the Hunt-Morgan house) for one price of $20, a significant savings over the cost of buying tickets for each individually. I have one year to visit the four sites from my date of purchase in November. I recommend persons consider touring all four homes via this discounted ticket plan. While at the Lexington Visitors' Center you can pick up lots of free information about various attractions in Lexington, including a free brochure about the Mary Todd Lincoln House. That free brochure is also available at the Mary Todd Lincoln House.
Lexington's city bus service, LexTran, has bus stops near the Mary Todd Lincoln House. And the house is within easy walking distance of the Lexington Civic Center and Rupp Arena.
My tour guide, Tom, knew much about the history of the house and the Todd/Lincoln family. He provided some interesting and fascinating details about the family background and the house. He also answered several questions from me and others on the tour.
A few of the items in the house date back to the Todd family, and the guide pointed those out (a table, two desks, paintings, a bed, etc.). Most of the remaining furnishings, though not original to the Todd family, seemed to date to the time period when they were alive.
The tour concluded with an opportunity to browse a bookstore/gift shop in what used to be the warming kitchen of the house.
For persons interested in history, especially the history of Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and their family, I strongly recommend trying to fit the tour into your schedule if in Lexington. The building includes restrooms on the lower level.
The back yard of the house is a garden that contains two plaques with information about Mary Todd Lincoln and Abraham Lincoln. Persons may take a self-guided tour of it free during hours the property is open.
The guided tour of the house took about an hour, including question and answer time. The group I was in began with only four of us, but grew to fourteen soon after we began due to late arrivals. The tours begin on the hour. But the late arrivals were allowed to take the beginning of the next tour to see the first room or two that they missed.
At the Lexington Visitors' Center on West Main Street just a few blocks from the Mary Todd Lincoln House, I purchased tickets to tour four historic homes (the Mary Todd Lincoln house, Ashland/the Henry Clay estate, Waveland, and the Hunt-Morgan house) for one price of $20, a significant savings over the cost of buying tickets for each individually. I have one year to visit the four sites from my date of purchase in November. I recommend persons consider touring all four homes via this discounted ticket plan. While at the Lexington Visitors' Center you can pick up lots of free information about various attractions in Lexington, including a free brochure about the Mary Todd Lincoln House. That free brochure is also available at the Mary Todd Lincoln House.
Lexington's city bus service, LexTran, has bus stops near the Mary Todd Lincoln House. And the house is within easy walking distance of the Lexington Civic Center and Rupp Arena.
Written November 8, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
littletm
Lexington, KY198 contributions
Apr 2014 • Couples
After living in Lexington for more than 40 years, we finally got around to visiting the Mary Todd Lincoln House in downtown Lexington. It's hard to believe that we've missed this treasure since its restoration!
Admission, including a one-hour guided tour, is $10 for adults. Parking is free. The first floor is handicapped accessible, but the two upper floors are not. There is a small, but very nice, museum shop at the end of the tour.
Although I've read a lot about Lincoln and his family, this tour really provided a lot of information about Mary's life I had never known. Our tour guide, Michael, was very knowledgeable and personable.
The home has been beautifully restored and, while only a few of the furnishings actually belonged to the Todd family (everything was sold at auction after Mary's father died), they have used inventory records to acquire items that are identical or period appropriate for a family of wealth in the area. Mary's family was quite wealthy and socially prominent. Henry Clay was a close family friend.
The flooring in most of the three-story house is original, as is the stairway. It's really pretty inspirational to walk exactly where President Lincoln and Mary would have walked and to use the stairs and handrails they used to go to the upstairs bedrooms.
They have some of the actual White House china and silverware, as well as a replica of the first china that Mary ordered upon renovating the White House. The story behind the design is very interesting. Her Confederacy-leaning family members played a role in many of her choices and activities.
They also have one of the "mourning jackets" she wore after the assassination, and they have an actual program from the Ford Theater presentation on that fatal night.
This is really a terrific attraction and we highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in American history.
Admission, including a one-hour guided tour, is $10 for adults. Parking is free. The first floor is handicapped accessible, but the two upper floors are not. There is a small, but very nice, museum shop at the end of the tour.
Although I've read a lot about Lincoln and his family, this tour really provided a lot of information about Mary's life I had never known. Our tour guide, Michael, was very knowledgeable and personable.
The home has been beautifully restored and, while only a few of the furnishings actually belonged to the Todd family (everything was sold at auction after Mary's father died), they have used inventory records to acquire items that are identical or period appropriate for a family of wealth in the area. Mary's family was quite wealthy and socially prominent. Henry Clay was a close family friend.
The flooring in most of the three-story house is original, as is the stairway. It's really pretty inspirational to walk exactly where President Lincoln and Mary would have walked and to use the stairs and handrails they used to go to the upstairs bedrooms.
They have some of the actual White House china and silverware, as well as a replica of the first china that Mary ordered upon renovating the White House. The story behind the design is very interesting. Her Confederacy-leaning family members played a role in many of her choices and activities.
They also have one of the "mourning jackets" she wore after the assassination, and they have an actual program from the Ford Theater presentation on that fatal night.
This is really a terrific attraction and we highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in American history.
Written April 28, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Kandy K
Menomonee Falls, WI40 contributions
Sep 2017 • Friends
Mary Todd grew up in this house located in downtown Lexington. Later she and President Lincoln visited it often during his presidency. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and gave us detailed insights into Mary's life. (Tours are on the hour - last tour at 3:00 pm.) All of the rooms were beautifully decorated. Many of Mary's ceramic collection are on display. I especially liked that visitors can take as many photos as they like as long as they don't use a flash. Sometimes you're not sure if what you've chosen to visit will turn out to be a tourist trap or if it will be something great. The Mary Todd Lincoln house is something great. If you like history, don't miss visiting here. (There's free parking located at the back of the house -- don't forget to take a good look at the garden too. It's wonderful.)
Written February 17, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Katie C
Westland, MI195 contributions
Summer Hours? We will be passing through on a Monday in June. Is this an open every day type of place or only a weekend place.
Brandon Gerding
Lima, OH964 contributions
When they are in operation we went during the week.
zoutespaula
Clemmons, NC
Are their access ways in the house for Disabled person to tour this site?
MTLHouse
Lexington, KY2 contributions
The Mary Todd Lincoln House is partially wheelchair accessible. The first floor of the museum can be reached via a handicap lift and is wheelchair navigable. Please ask staff for access to the lift. The second floor is not wheelchair accessible. There are twenty-one steps to the second floor. A photo album of the upstairs is available for visitors who are unable to or choose not to tour the upstairs.
Diane W
Canton, Ohio, United States69 contributions
Can you get I free with a senior pass National Park card?
Randolph_B478
Lexington, KY8 contributions
The Mary Todd Lincoln House is a private, non-profit museum. It is listed as a site on the National Register of Historic Places but is not a part of the National Park Service.
gary r
Schuylkill Haven, PA279 contributions
Is the home opened on Sundays?
stevereviews
kentucky192 contributions
Here is a resource that is about to be launched that I created for stops on the LIncoln Heritage trail. It will have info about hours, maps, an audio tour and video...
It's abelincoln.tours.
Have fun!
Mary L
Oak Lawn, IL1 contribution
Price please
MTLHouse
Lexington, KY2 contributions
Hello! Yes, Jack has it correct. The price for our standard public tour is $10 for adults for adults, $5 for kids ages 5-12, and free for kids ages 5 and under. The prices for special events and programs depends on the program. Thank you for your interest in the Mary Todd Lincoln House!
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Claim your listingMary Todd Lincoln House - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)
Frequently Asked Questions about Mary Todd Lincoln House
- Mary Todd Lincoln House admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost $16.35, while a popular guided tour starts around $27.00 per person.
- Hotels near Mary Todd Lincoln House:
- (0.21 mi) Hyatt Regency Lexington
- (0.23 mi) Hilton Lexington/Downtown
- (0.40 mi) 21c Museum Hotel Lexington
- (0.20 mi) Charming Historic Home in Downtown Lexington
- (0.24 mi) Large Two Bedroom Apartment in Downtown Lexington near Rupp Arena and Alltech
- Restaurants near Mary Todd Lincoln House:
- (0.11 mi) Stella Kentucky Deli
- (0.18 mi) Tony's of Lexington
- (0.19 mi) Pies & Pints
- (0.18 mi) The Blue Heron Steakhouse
- (0.24 mi) The Triangle Grille
Mary Todd Lincoln House Information
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