About

President Abraham Lincoln's great-grandfather John Lincoln moved from Pennsylvania and settled in the Linville Creek area of Rockingham County in 1768. Although John's eldest son, Abraham, grandfather of the president, migrated to Kentucky, a younger son, Jacob, remained to build the present Federal farmhouse ca. 1800 near the site of the original family home. With its refined details and academic proportions, the house is sophisticated for its time and place. The urbane exterior contrasts with the neighboring German-style farmhouses. A noteworthy feature is the handsomely detailed pedimented doorway. The Lincoln Homestead and Cemetery property remained in the Lincoln family until 1874. The family cemetery, high on the hill behind the house, contains the graves of five generations of Lincolns, including John and Jacob Lincoln, and two enslaved individuals.