Mary E. Surratt Boarding House
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The Mary E. Surratt Boarding House in Washington, D.C. was the site of meetings of conspirators to kidnap and subsequently to
assassinate Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...
U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
. It was operated as a boarding house by
Mary Surratt Mary Elizabeth Jenkins SurrattCashin, p. 287.Steers, 2010, p. 516. (1820 or May 1823 – July 7, 1865) was an American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy which led to the assassi ...
from September 1864 to April 1865.


About the house

The building, at 604 H Street NW, standing three-and-one-half stories tall, was constructed by Jonathan T. Walker in 1843.Kauffmann, p. 412. It has been described as being in the Early Republic or
Federal style Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
or in "vernacular Greek Revival" style. It stands on a lot measuring . The building is wide, facing directly onto the sidewalk on south side of the street, and has a depth of . The building was altered in 1925 so that the first floor could be used as a commercial space. John Surratt purchased the house from Augustus A. Gibson on December 6, 1853, and operated it as a boarding house. After her husband died in 1862, Mary Surratt chose to rent her tavern/residence in nearby Surrattsville, Maryland, to
John M. Lloyd John Minchin Lloyd (1835 — December 18, 1892) was a bricklayer and police officer in Washington, D.C., in the United States. He was one of the first police officers hired by the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia when its ...
, a former Washington, D.C., policeman and Confederate sympathizer, and moved into the Washington boarding house. In 1865, the military tribunal trying the conspirators of Lincoln's assassination heard testimony from residents at the boarding house that Surratt had regularly met with John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln conspirators at the house. Lloyd told the tribunal that he had been told by Surratt to provide field glasses and guns to Booth and co-conspirator David Herold. It was on the basis of this evidence that Surratt was convicted and sentenced to death. For her role as a member of the Abraham Lincoln assassination conspiracy plot, she became the first woman to be executed by the United States federal government. She was executed by hanging. The building was listed on the U.S.
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on August 11, 2009. (31 pages, with eight photos from 2009) The listing was announced as the featured listing in the
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...
's weekly list of August 28, 2009. In April, 2011 the house gained some attention with the release of a film about Mary Surratt, '' The Conspirator'' by director
Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award from four nominations, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, the Cec ...
.Site Of A D.C. Chinese Restaurant Has A Dark Past
Art Silverman,
National Public Radio National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other n ...
, accessed April 19, 2011 , the commercial space is used as a restaurant, with karaoke rooms available.Wok and Roll
Accessed 4 March 2020.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in the District of Columbia This is a list of properties and districts in Washington, D.C., on the National Register of Historic Places. There are more than 600 listings, including 74 National Historic Landmarks of the United States and another 13 places otherwise designate ...


References


Bibliography

*Kauffman, Michael W. ''American Brutus.'' New York: Random House, 2004.


External links


Wok and Roll restaurant

Surratt House MuseumLincoln Conspirator's Home Now Wok and Roll
- Ghosts of DC blog {{DEFAULTSORT:Surratt, Mary E., Boarding House 1843 establishments in Washington, D.C. Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Federal architecture in Washington, D.C. Houses completed in 1843 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C.