Mary Todd Lincoln House Self Guided Tour Ticket

A luscious trip into history

As a lover of history, I so enjoyed touring this home. And, it is easy to feel that it was a home. The staff was so elegant in discussing this history of the house, the family and Abe Lincoln. I could just imagine being in this house on a quiet evening. The information was also disseminated in a way I haven’t seen before. In each room, there were several laminated sheets, telling the significance of items in the room. When several people are in the room, they can get the information easily. And in addition, there is staff in the rooms, to answer questions.

Good Informative Tour

NIce Tour. We started with a tour guide that gave some information and then let us tour on our own after that. The house is somewhat small but full of interesting stories especially considering the Confederate family of Mary Todd as she is married to the President of the US and leader of the Union military. Talk about family conflict! I'm a person who like to read everything and the tour took us around 1-1/2 hours. Parking was behind the house and only a few spaces. There was a funeral at the church next door which created some congestion in the already small area.

WORTH A QUICK VISIT

FOR HISTORY BUFFS, VERY INFORMATIVE. GLAD WE MADE THE SHORT VISIT. VERY INFORMATIVE, IT WAS EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY SHE HAD SUCH A SAD ENDING, SO MUCH TRAGEDY. CHILDREN WOULD BE BORED.

Worth a visit!!

A really beautiful home with Todd family heirlooms. Interesting history, excellent tour guides. We learned new things about Mary Todd Lincoln and her family. Worth a visit!

Somewhat disappointed

The guides were very informative, interesting and pleasant. The artifacts were disappointing. I expected more from MTL’s childhood, marriage life and life after President Lincoln.

OK tour

I was a little disappointed in this tour. It was self guided and only had one fourth of the original artifacts as the rest were replicas of period pieces. Mrs. Lincoln did not live in the house very long. I felt that the price was too much for the tour.

Historic Mary Lincoln's home Lexington

Very interesting to see the house where Mary spent part of her childhood years. We weren't there on the day they did tours but there was a person downstairs and one upstairs to answer any questions as well as sheets describing various artifacts in the room. Both guides were quite helpful and willing to answer any questions. It is located in the old historic part of Lexington so it worth a walk around to see some of the other buildings in the area. There is a small parking lot in back and the entrance looks like an alley between the house and the church off West Main Street.

A Must-see Destination During Your Visit to Lexington

Historic homes succeed on the basis of their condition and the quality of their preservation, on the quality of museum interpretation and the history presented, on their financial stability and sustainability and, finally, on the caliber of the professional and volunteer staff. As a retired museum administrator I give the Mary Todd Lincoln House top marks across the board. The story of its restoration is a tribute to the people of Kentucky and today its staff are at the top of their game. We learned so much not just about Mary but also about the city of Lexington in her day, and this added immeasurably to our enjoyment of our stay in the area. The story of the house is not only seminal to our knowledge of the Lincolns but also richly illuminates our understanding of Lexington's role in the nation's westward expansion. It showcases the importance of this city as a critical hub for education, commerce, culture and growth. Thank you for a wonderful experience!

Great museum

Beautifully done. Pleasant knowledgeable staff. Great place to see while in Lexington. I would definitely recommend taking the time.

Well worth the time and money.

I didn't know anything about Mary Todd Lincoln. What a traumatic life. It was a strange/awesome feeling when the man working there said asked me how it felt to run my hand down the same stairs banister that Abraham Lincoln did!!! Worth the m9ney!!

Fabulous and fun

Excellent tour I learned so much The photo of Abe Lincoln without a beard was fun to see Her bedroom was fabulous It was a an easy walk from our downtown Marriott hotel

Well worth the visit to a historic structure. Well versed docent.

As history fans, we really had a great visit to this historic home. The self guided tour was enhanced with placards in each room to explain exhibits and items in each room. No rush to go through, we were able to meander through the rooms and soak in the surroundings. The knowledgeable docents were helpful and answered questions. Very nice restoration of a historic structure.

Cool Tour

This is a must-see if you are visiting Lexington. There is a lot of historical information about the Todd family, including Mary. It took us about an hour to see and read everything. Ask questions of the docents. They know their stuff.

Great experience!

I took my kids to their event on President’s Day and we really enjoyed it! The house is beautifully maintained, the staff were engaging and knowledgeable, and the kid activities were a lot of fun. Highly recommend!

Mary Todd Lincoln tour

Our docent Sharon was amazing!! We loved the tour!! The antiques were magnificent! An experience everyone should have!

Focused and bite sized…a 45-minute visit

My 86-year old father and I were the first in the door when it opened on a Friday morning in November. While we hadn’t booked a guided tour, we had the docent, who was very knowledgable, to ourselves for about 20 minutes. Although it is hard for him to climb stairs, he was able to manage with a little support from me.

Mary Todd Lincoln House

This was a self-guided tour of the lower and upper floors of the house. The exhibits were interesting and educational! The home was lovely and the guides were helpful and informative during my tour!

Incredible, unknown history in a critical Tim for America.

Learning the family history of Mary Todd Lincoln and how that complicated things significantly for Lincoln in the Civil War.

Mary Todd’s teenage home

This is the house Mary Todd lived in as a teenager. They have done a nice job of trying to recreate the space she lived in. While it is a self guided tour there was a docent on both floors to answer questions. Very pleasant stop while traveling.

Excellent time and the MTL house!

Hey, this was a great place to visit! Jacob and Will were terrific, very knowledgeable and friendly! They know and present well the history concerning the Todds and Lincolns. The house is good size and has many actual furniture pieces and artifacts from the family (or like item antiques) to make it true to the period. Also, make sure you leave through the back of the house. Their gift shop in located in the warming kitchen of the house that can be found after you leave through the back door, plus a nice garden.

Mary Todd Lincoln House-A Gem in Lexington

The tour guides were extremely knowledgeable and very friendly. The home had many original pieces which were discussed.

Great Stop!

Very cool to see. They have pieces that the Todd/Lincoln family have been gifted back to the house. The gift shop was a great stop too.

Small family history

Nicely done self tour. The guides were very informative and knowledgeable . Each room was very interesting and educational.

Excellent place to visit.

This place was so interesting. I took lots of pictures and found out lots of new information that I did not know before. I liked it so well I bought two books .

We had a wonderful day...

We had a wonderful day visiting Mary Todd Lincoln House. We learned that there are family pieces of furniture in the home and the tour guide was very knowledgeable on the facts of the family. Recommend this tour to anyone that is interested in KY history and connection to Abraham Lincoln.

Great Time, Great Guides!

This museum/historic home was a blast! The guides (Jacob, Mel, and Durbin) were super insightful and warm! I had a blast talking to them. While some of the home has been redone (see first floor floorings), the amount of beautiful Todd family heirlooms alone makes the tour worth it! I was pleasantly surprised the museum left some level of ambiguity as to why MLTs late life insanity trial was brought about. MLTs story was presented respectfully and accurately. There were many ways for kids to interact with the history at the home. Gift store with Will was charming and reasonably priced! 9/10 recommend!

Rough parking but a decent museum

First the parking is rather difficult. They have parking directly behind the house, you have to use an alley to get to. The day we went there was a rather large funeral occurring right next door making it a bit more daunting. You cannot have a huge vehicle or you might not fit. On that note there is a short introduction and then you are on your own. My family has made a point to learn and go to many Lincoln sites and since she was his wife this related. Even though she didn’t live there long they do a good job of helping you to understand a bit more about her. We learned how she had quite a bit of a tragic life after her husband died. A good stop if you have time.

MTL HOME

I enjoyed the tour very much, the staff were very nice, all of the notes and photos were very informative. The house has restored beautifully.

Awesome piece of history!

I decided on a whim to visit this historical landmark, and I'm glad I did. It was a nice glimpse into what life was like in the 19th century. It started out as a self-guided tour, but I happened to be there while a tour guide was practicing, and she did an amazing job explaining the history of the house and the family that once resided there. Great job Gwen! If you like history, I highly recommend a trip to the Mary Todd Lincoln house.

Beautiful and well taken care of

Very nice place to check out while in the Lexington area. I didn't know much about Mary Todd Lincoln before visiting. I think it is well worth the time. It is self guided, however there is staff on both floors and information cards in each room. I learned a lot and was happy that we stopped to check out this historical home.

A very enchanting history in the heart of downtown Lexington. House is huge for the period standards!

I was tagging along with my husband on a business trip. I was looking for something to do walking distance downtown. I love Lincoln and use him as an example frequently that failing once or twice doesn’t make you a failure. I saw Mary Todd’s home was open for tours. I walked over to the home. It was gorgeous. The outside of the home is authentic but the inside has been re-done since it has changed hands several times after the Todd’s sold it before the city bought it in the 1960’s. The staff was great. They were helpful and kind. They explained items that had been reacquired or donated back to the museum. The history of the Todd family was informative. The link to Confederate and Union was fascinating. They provided little quizzes throughout the home to keep kids and adults engaged. Admission can be on-line or in person. If not busy time, I would do in person. There is a small garden with more Todd family history and a small gift shop. If feeling energized after the house, go 3 blocks to the cemetery or go a few blocks to explore other notable Lincoln/Todd sites!

Thumbs up!

Our visit to the Todd homestead was great! The host/guide was polite, well informed, answered all our questions. We took our time through the tour and didn't feel rushed. Was a great experience! Thank you!

A Hidden Gem

Excellent experience. The staff is very professional and helpful. Really liked the information sheets in each room. The best self guided tour we have been on. A gem in Lexington if you want to learn more about our history.

Worth a visit

Friendly, knowledgeable staff. Each room had laminated, illustrated information card to highlight items in that space. Timed reservations limit the number of guests so that you can move around freely in the rooms. Parking at the house is very limited, and the adjacent church lot was full of funeral attendees, but we were able to use arena parking behind the house.

Super engaging and informative

Very interesting and informative! The interpreter working upstairs gave me such a wealth of information in under 10 minutes. The interactive activity upstairs where you can voice your opinion on Mary Todd Lincoln's court case was such a clever idea!

Visiting Lexington?? Make time to visit .

Docents are passionate about telling the story of the house and Mary Todd Lincoln. Very interesting tour.... recommend it if you are in Lexington

Loved it!!

I just love the history. Enjoyed sharing it with my son. Liked I could go at my own pace, but I did miss the guide and the third floor. I’d seen that in a previous tour.

Beautifully preserved

This house is well worth the to visit. I am very glad they were able to save it from destruction. It is a self guided tour but the docent gave us a nice introduction. Since the house had been used as a warehouse before they saved it most of the furniture is not original but there were laminated sheets in each room that detailed original items. It was well done. A little price at $15 person.

Learned new information.

Young man docent was very informative and knowledgeable. Very interesting tour! I did not realize that during the Civil War, part of Mary’s family had allegiance to the North and part to the South.

Lexington History Tour

This house was nicely presented with true artifacts and items from the time period. The Tour guides were friendly and knowledgeable. Interesting history lesson on Mary Todd and her family. Would be even better with a guided tour or audio tours with the current price.

Great and Informative Afternoon

Anyone passing by or through Lexington needs to stop and visit this attraction. Quite possibly one of the most interesting and informative house tours I have been on. Even though self guided there are truly informative and engaged interpreters throughout the house to answer any and all questions and add to understanding Mrs Lincoln and her life. A lot of the furniture and furnishings are original and absolutely beautiful. The last exhibit on the 2nd floor was engaging and really challenges you to think. The interpreter also helped us select the best book on Mrs Lincoln to match our interests. All in all a great visit - and we look forward to visiting again. Kudos to the gift shop and the lady working there as well!

Interesting and educational

Well documented and presented tour. No guides; just placards in the rooms with artifacts. Very well attended. Several visitors on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. A. Lincoln was given equal historical treatment to his wife.

Wealth of information

Mary Todd Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln, was raised in this house. While she was born elsewhere in Lexington, she lived here from the age of 14 until her marriage. Mary Lincoln was a member of a large and wealthy, slave-owning Kentucky family and was well educated. One of the most interesting things that I learned about her family was about how it was split, with some members supporting President Lincoln and some supporting (and fighting for) the south. This was a fairly large house for its day but small by today's standards and not all that exciting. While many of the pieces in the house are authentic to the Todd family and others are authentic to the period, they tend to be relatively plain. The house is worth touring for the wealth of information provided but not as a "house tour".

The folks running this...

The folks running this are amazing and have done a great job of making the experience interactive and educational.

History in Lexington

This house has a wonderful history and includes a lot of antiques from the Todd family. The staff was extremely friendly and open to answering questions as you walk through the self-guided tour.

Nice pit stop

Our plans got canceled because of the rain so we stopped to tour the house. Due to covid its all self guided. It was really nice cause they had informational plaques in each room. The house is beautiful and well kept. I learned a lot that I didn't know about President Lincolns family .

Enjoyable Self-guided Tour

Although Covid prevented us from having a guided tour, the house has been set up to easily self-guide. Many of the pieces in the house are authentic to the Todd family; others are authentic to the period. We actually enjoyed being able to take our time in each room.

loved it

very interesting. beautiful artifacts of history. really appreaciated the guides info about it. thank you

Great little stop

Upstairs guide was amazing. Full of knowledge and eager to answer questions. Very interesting facts. Took about an hour to go through.

Interesting little tour

Was pleasantly surprised at how interesting this house/exhibits was,especially since it is downtown next tu Rupp arena.Learned a lot about Mary Todd and her family