Lincoln Park
A historic site in Northeast Washington, D.C. with roots dating back to the American Civil War.
Visit Lincoln Park
Origins During the Civil War
In 1861, during the American Civil War, a temporary hospital was built on a rubble-strewn field one mile east of the Capitol, in eastern Washington, D.C.. It was named after President Abraham Lincoln, and Lincoln Park, the ground on which it was built, still bears that name.
The Lincoln United States Army General Hospital was constructed on land that had originally been designed by Pierre L'Enfant to place a mile marker where all distances to and from Washington would be measured. The land had been property of the federal government — which had not developed it — and subsequently this forgotten parcel became a dumping ground for construction and other debris.
A Model Military Hospital
The hospital, built of canvas-covered logs, was a marked improvement over the temporary existing hospitals – in various public buildings and churches — to be found around Washington at the time. Consequently Lincoln Hospital was considered a model facility. Built by the Army and with 2,575 beds, it became the largest of the military hospitals to care for Civil War wounded in Washington.
1
Hospital Construction
Opened in December 1862, the medical complex boasted of 20 pavilions and 25 tent wards.
2
A Complete Facility
It was a miniature city, with kitchens, dining rooms, officers quarters, and residences for nuns who comprised the nursing staff.
3
Support Services
Support services — water tanks, a laundry, barber shop, carpenter shop and stables – were onsite, as well as the aptly-named "Dead House," or morgue.
4
Military Presence
There was an Army barracks, guard house, and secure quarters for contrabands.
Walt Whitman's Account
"Lincoln Hospital, east of the Capitol, has more inmates than an ordinary country town … A wanderer like me about Washington, pauses on some high land which commands the sweep of the city… and has his eyes attracted by these white clusters of barracks in almost every direction."
Poet and newspaper reporter Walt Whitman was a frequent visitor, describing the hospital in a December 11, 1864 New York Times article.
Historical Connections
1
Lincoln's Absence
There is no evidence that Lincoln visited this namesake hospital, although he often visited the hospitals around the city.
2
Presidential Assassination
In an ironic twist, a Lincoln Hospital doctor was one of the first to offer aid to the President after the attack by John Wilkes Booth.
3
Arlington Cemetery Connection
The first soldier to be buried in Arlington Cemetery passed away at Lincoln Hospital. His name was William Henry Christman, admitted with a case of measles on May 1, 1864. He died May 11th and was buried in Arlington two days later.
Lincoln Park Today
Lincoln General Hospital was taken down shortly after the Civil War and nothing remains of it; a residential district now occupies the land upon which it stood. But its name remained as the area was first called Lincoln Square then, later, today's Lincoln Park.

While the hospital is gone, the name "Lincoln Park" preserves this important piece of Civil War history in Washington DC.