flickr/Shannon McGee
AAA Editor Notes
Hildene, The Lincoln Family Home, 1.5 mi. s. on SR 7A to 1005 Hildene Rd., is a 24-room Georgian Revival mansion built in 1905 as a summer home for Robert Todd Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's only child to live to maturity.

Robert Lincoln, who became president and chairman of the Pullman Co., was so impressed by the beauty of the Manchester area when he visited with his mother and brother Tad in 1864 that he returned years later to build this 412-acre estate. Lincoln descendants lived in the house until 1975.

Visitors can watch a brief video orientation in the welcome center, take a guided or self-guiding tour of the home, hear an original Aeolian 1,000-pipe organ and stroll through the gardens; the formal garden boasts some one thousand peony blooms, many from the original plants which date back to 1908. Twelve miles of walking trails wind through woods and meadows, leading to a working farm, a teaching greenhouse, a floating boardwalk through the wetland and a goat dairy and cheese-making facility. Cross-country skiing and snowshoeing are available along the trails in winter.

The restored 1903 wooden Pullman Palace car, Sunbeam, along the trail just outside the Gatehouse, is used to tell the complex story "Many Voices" which looks at the African-American Pullman porters of the time and how they observed and emulated the mannerisms, dress and aspirations of the wealthy Pullman clientele, realizing their possibilities in wealth, travel and learning and rising to the Black middle class, but also seeing the inequities between the classes.

Guided tours are available. Recreational activities are permitted. Picnicking is permitted. Time: Allow 1 hour, 30 minutes minimum.

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$1 Off Adult Admission
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