Work is under way on the reconstruction of
two long-gone residences in the Lincoln Home neighborhood, a
project that caps Richard Lusardi’s tenure as superintendent
of the national historic site.
The rebuilding of the Burch and Carrigan
homes, which sat closest to the Lincoln residence, is expected to
give visitors a better sense of the diversity of residents and
building styles in the two-block neighborhood where the 16th
president lived from 1844-1861.
“We hope to give people more
opportunity to connect with Lincoln and how his decisions affect us
today,” Lusardi says.
Lusardi, who will retire in June, helped
secure federal funding for archaeological investigations that
precede the actual reconstruction.
Researchers are examining old photographs and
other documents, as well as the lots where the houses stood, in an
effort to duplicate the design and footprint of each building.
Their findings, which will be summarized in a historical-structures
report, represent only the first phase of the project. The Park
Service still must secure funding for the next two steps,
architectural design and construction. Lusardi says the goal is to
complete construction by 2009, the bicentennial of Lincoln’s
birth.
Although both homes were razed years before
the Lincoln neighborhood came under federal protection, researchers
already have a wealth of information about the buildings’
exteriors, Lusardi says. Many old photographs of the Lincoln home
include views of the Burch and Carrigan homes. Researchers also
have access to photographs that feature each of the homes
exclusively, he says.
More sources of information keep arriving,
Lusardi says, including a 1860s-era stereoptic photograph of the
Carrigan home from the collection of the late Lloyd Ostendorf.
One photo of the Burch house is so clear that
reconstruction architects and engineers are able to count the
bricks.
“It’s amazing what archeological
evidence is still there,” says Lincoln Home historian Tim
Townsend, who will oversee the reconstruction work after Lusardi
retires.
Townsend and Lusardi have examined censuses,
old newspapers and city directories, deeds and mortgages, and plat
and bird’s-eye-view maps, which were popular before aerial
photography became possible. The Lincoln Library has proved an
important source of material, but many questions remain unanswered.
There’s hope that descendants of the original occupants of
the two homes will come forward, but, on the basis of past
experience, Lusardi says, “We usually have more information
than the families do.”
The historical-structures report is expected
to take a year to complete, leading to the selection of a
historical architect with background in engineering and knowledge of how buildings were put
together in the 19th century. Finally construction will be opened for
bidding, which should attract companies specializing in historic
restoration. The buildings will include modern features, including
lighting, heating, and air conditioning. Floors and supports will be
stronger as a means of handling the expected 300,000 visitors a year.
Because no 19th-century photographs taken
inside the homes are known to exist, no attempt will be made to
reproduce the interiors. The space will be used instead for
exhibits. One planned exhibit, The
African-American Story, will feature
Jameson Jenkins, a black neighbor who drove Lincoln to the depot
when he departed for Washington, D.C. The exhibit will examine
slavery and abolition and how these forces shaped Lincoln’s
life work.
As for the actual residents of the Burch and
Carrigan homes, their sketchy stories come from old court records
and city directories. Thomas Alsop is the first person identified
as a resident of the Carrigan home. A later city directory
indicates that he sold watches and jewelry.
Henry and Susan Carrigan owned and operated a
hotel, which they lost, according to a 1859 lawsuit in chancery court,
but somehow regained by 1860. Carrigan ran for city marshal, and he was
later an officer at a meeting to raise volunteers to fight for the
Union. The Carrigan home was razed before 1960.
The widower William S. Burch, who lived with
his two children directly west of the Lincolns, was listed in the
city directory for 1855 as a lumberman. Earlier he was a partner in
a retail business; later, he was a clerk. His son Richard Burch
sold the house in 1879, and it was gone by 1917.
Not much is known about the relationships
among the Lincolns, Burches, and Carrigans. According to a letter
written by Mary Todd Lincoln, the Lincolns stored furniture in the
attic of the Burch home when they went to Washington.
A recommendation to rebuild the Burch and
Carrigan homes was included in a 1970 master plan drawn up after
the Park Service took over the historic neighborhood. Slowly the
neighborhood has taken shape on the basis of the plan’s
recommendations. For example, moving the Corneau House to its
original site at the southwest corner of Eighth and Jackson streets
and restoring it was completed in 1997, partially through the
efforts of the Junior League. The Arnold House, across Jackson
Street from the Lincoln Home, was restored in 1985.
The typical home restoration takes three to
five years, depending on the funding, Lusardi says. But the efforts
will pay off long after.
“We are finishing these for
perpetuity,” Lusardi says. “In the years to come, there
will be so much more for folks to do.”
This article appears in Mar 24-30, 2005.
