The Lincoln Homestead

     The Lincoln Homestead is an important piece to the history of the United States and the history of the Shenandoah Valley. It is important to the history of the United States due to being the origins of the Lincoln family, as the ancestors of the Lincoln family called this place home including Lincoln’s father, Thomas Lincoln. It is also a part of the history of the Shenandoah Valley as the house represents the socio-economic conditions of the valley throughout its history.

     We chose this site because we think that the Lincoln Homestead is a significant part in the history of the Shenandoah Valley. We wanted to tell a story that is often untold, that being the Lincolns as slave owners. Abraham Lincoln is best known for being the great emancipator however, his ancestors and relatives owned slaves. This part of the history of the Lincoln family often goes untold.

     By using local history resources, we were able to piece together elements regarding the history of the Lincoln Homestead. Tax records, census data, and property records helped to shed a light on what the property was during this time and how it evolved.

     It is now a Bed and Breakfast owned by Benjamin and Sarah Bixler, who bought the house in 2019. Since then it has gone under many renovations but still is able to tell the story of the Lincoln family who once lived here. The story unfolds as President Abraham Lincoln’s grandfather moved to the Shenandoah Valley in 1768 and built this homestead in the year 1800. It then was finished in the year 1840 by Colonel Abraham Lincoln. This property would not be standing without the help of slaves both on site and at another location we viewed known as the Breneman-Turner Mill. The help of slaves on both the property grounds and the mill made this site successful for looking into both firsting and lasting, but also how forgotten histories can often be untold that we see in Tiya Miles’ book “The House on Diamond Hill: A Cherokee Plantation Story”. The story of the Lincoln Homestead is often talked about as being one of the earliest buildings that are still standing in Rockingham County. This story often is brought up and how the house is now renovated and restored to its former beauty, but it is never talked about the story of how it became this beloved homestead. The Bixler’s as well as our group have decided to shed light on the fact that this house had slaves, making it the prosperous household that held President Abraham Lincoln’s family. We tell the story of the slaves and their part on this property and how we have found and will continue to find stories about the African Americans enslaved here in Broadway, Va.

     We wish for this presentation to be an interactive learning tool for people to see the Lincoln homestead in its glory, and to find out information regarding the house without having to do too much in-depth research to understand the impact this homestead has had on Shenandoah Valley history

                                 Breneman-Turner Mill

Lincoln Graveyard

The Lincoln House

Lincoln Homestead
Image of the Lincoln Homestead
Breneman-Turner Mill
Image of the Breneman-Turner Mill
Lincoln Family Cemetery
Image of the Lincoln Family Cemetery

We give thanks to Benjamin and Sarah Bixler for giving us permission to photograph this site, as well as Dr. Andrew Witmer who provided guidance and prior research posted to be a helpful tool for this project.

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