Homecoming at Lincoln's Cottage

Homecoming at President Lincoln's Cottage

During the Civil War, the Lincolns packed up each summer and moved three miles north to a hilltop cottage in Petworth, where Lincoln worked on the Emancipation Proclamation. Once a year the site throws Homecoming, a free family day on those same grounds: pony rides, a petting zoo, arts and crafts, hands-on activities for kids, cottage tours, and a lot of lawn.

This is a small-festival kind of day, which with young kids is a feature. Lines stay manageable, there is real space to spread a picnic blanket, and you are not shepherding anyone through a Mall-sized crowd. It runs 10am to 3pm sharp, so treat it as a morning: arrive near opening, do the ponies and animals first, then picnic under the trees before heading home for naps.

Parent Tips 💡

• ✓Arrive at 10am: Pony ride and petting zoo lines are shortest in the first hour, and the animals are fresher too.
• ✓Want to see inside the cottage? Check in early: Tour slots go quickly at free events. Sort that out when you arrive, then build the rest of your morning around your time.
• ✓Bring the picnic blanket: There is food for sale, but a packed lunch on the lawn is the best seat at this event. The grounds are the whole point.
• ✓Adults should carry photo ID: The cottage sits on the gated Armed Forces Retirement Home campus, and it is worth having ID handy at the entrance just in case.
• ✓Plan around the 3pm end: This is a morning event by design. Afternoon nappers can do the whole thing and still make it home in time.
• ✓Sept 19 is a stacked Saturday: H Street Festival and Mount Vernon's Colonial Market run the same day. Homecoming is the calmest of the three with little kids.