Nice trip! The woman giving the tour was really good and knew a lot about the subject. A few years ago a different person or organization was put in charge and they've definitely tried to give a more honest and full version of the history by acknowledging some of the ways that the history of the enslaved people living there were treated. read more

Surratt House Museum - House - Museums Near Me - Clinton, Maryland

See all

A tiny museum, but worth the stop if you're in the area. Open Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., tours are offered of the historic house and tavern every half hour. If it's closed when you arrive, park in the lot and read the plaques around the garden. You'll learn about its dark history and the house owner's involvement in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. read more

See all

I have been passing this place since the 1980s always wondering what it was about. Well, today my long wait is over. I finally made it. The grounds and house are well maintained . There is a grassy area with a few picnic tables under some shade trees that you can hang out on or eat at. There are some cannons out in the area as well. There is a decent amount of parking, which is free in its private lot. The house and grounds are maintained by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. If you are going to take a tour, you start at meet at the visitor's center. The request a $5 cash donation, but it is not required. Unfortunately, I did not have cash on me. So, we left the visitor's center and walk over to the house. My guide, Rhianna, was awesome. She was very energetic and knowledgable. she answered all my questions and walked me through the tour. I was the only person taking the tour. We started outside of the house in the yard. The guide gave some background of the house and explained that they were trying to change the house's narrative. For years the house was known as the place that John Wilkes Booth stopped after he shot President Abraham Lincoln. However, as she pointed out, he never went inside and was only there for about 15 minutes. They are trying to focus more on the enslaved people that worked at the house instead. After a brief stop in the yard, we entered the house. We started in the post office/pub. then made our why through the house, room by room. Most of the furniture is period appropriate and there is actually one piece of furniture that was from the original home. Most rooms features a story of an enslaved person. One rooms covers Mary Surratt's imprisonment and subsequent execution for conspiring to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. The guided walked me around and discussed each room on the first floor. She then cut me loose to go through the second floor on my own. There is a sewing/storage room and some bedrooms upstairs. There is also some public restrooms up there too. Who can say that they used a restroom in a 170 year old house? Now I can. The house is relatively small, but it is packed with information, culture and history. Built in 1852, the house hold the distinction of being the oldest building in Clinton, Maryland. This house is a mostly overlooked attraction that I highly recommend checking out. It is a piece of history that has a great story. read more

I think this place is in a bit of a transition as it sounds like there is a new person running it and trying to deal with an old system, so I'm glad they were even open. I couldn't even get a hold of someone on the phone for a few days and the county site says you can book tickets but then there's no link, so then it's unclear what the process is. Because it's a little disorganized it's a bit of "there's a guy in the house to answer questions but also it's kind of self-guided." This was an important site for the John Wilkes Boothe saga, but I have to rate this place down because the "tour guide" spent most of his time on a soapbox about current events to a point I was kind of uncomfortable asking questions ABOUT Mary Surratt. He implied that people care more about her than the plight of the Native Americans or racism in the 20th century and those have nothing to do with this site. Maybe he was bored talking about the Surratts all day but still, if I didn't know anything about John Wilkes Booth beforehand, not sure if I would have learned anything about it here except from the signage inside. They currently can only accept cash donations because of their system, so the house itself is worth that, so make sure you have a few dollars on hand. The house is worth preserving, and I hope in the future when they've plotted out a good business flow, it will be a much more interesting and informative site. read more

See all

Visited this jewel that I drive by all the time and was very impressed. The site was beautiful and the house has been maintained well. The interpretation of the site was remarkable. As a Civil War buff, I discovered new facts about the area and the Lincoln assassination. While the grounds, house and gift shop were were awesome, the star of the day was Logan our guide. She was well informed and a great storyteller. I will be returning with a larger group. read more

My brother and I had an absolutely wonderful experience today at the Surratt House Museum. Matt, our guide, was extremely knowledgeable not only about Mrs. Surratt and the house and buildings but about that time period in general. He spent a lot of time with us and answered all our questions. We enjoyed the entire experience. Thank you!!!!! read more

Great Maryland history site! Basically, this site is just a large, lush green lawn with a maroon house to one side, in which the Civil War Surratt family lived. There are signs. It has a game of mini-bowling on the front lawn. Out back is a flower garden. The Surratts gave shelter to the infamous failed Southern radical thespian John Wilkes Booth, upon his fleeing Washington, the night he mortally shot President Lincoln at the Ford Theater. Meanwhile Secretary of State Stanton and Chase both confidantes were the first to be at President Lincoln's side. John Booth was eventually found squatting in a local Virginia tobacco barn and was shot. The raid literally scattered his confines with shot-holes. The Surratts were also tried and convicted in the District of Columbia - eventually found guilty of sedition. They were hanged publicly before a small crowd of onlookers (wearing the then-in-style black stove-pipe hats). Some planning into Booth's getaway must have occurred in this red barn. For that reason it still attracts onlookers, visitors, groups of students! This red barn is a glorious remnant of the past. It is tall, large and still stands proudly - its roof on top gleaming in the afternoon sun light. This is a piece of crazy United States history. From a time when the Nation was trying to heal from war - but was plagued nonetheless by elements of disorder and chaos. John Wilkes Booth got what he deserved. Rebel review: 5 read more

Surratt House Museum - The Rebel Chef was at Surratt House Tavern + Gardens 2021 - Museums Near Me - Clinton, Maryland

I came here with my Meetup group to follow John Wilkes Booth escape route. After Ford's Theater and the Petersen House, the next stop was Mary Surratt's house. The docent for our tour did a great job presenting the information to us and she was dressed for the time. They also did a great job with maintaining the home. In addition, I also learned that the town was called Surrattsville because Mary Surratt's husband was the Postmaster. I didn't even know that they would name a town after a postmaster--that tells you how much I know about the U.S. postal service. After the tour, they had a gift shop/bookstore for all things Lincoln. If you are curious about the Lincoln assassination and the John Wilkes Booth escape route, you should definitely check out the Surratt house. read more

See all

This museum is small, but effectively captures what the Surratt Tavern was like leading up to the fateful events in 1865 surrounding the Lincoln Assassination. It's important to remember that Booth was only here a matter of minutes while his accomplice picked up supplies, so stopping here may help illuminate the background as to why the Surratts were of a general anti-Union sentiment and what Southern MD was like at the time. Everything is clean and and exhibits are well organized inside and the lawn is very nicely landscaped outside. The thing to really push this to 5-stars was the tour guide, a young man named Bryan who said he was a theater major and history minor. He was so engaging that he really made every word come to life. He may just be the best tour guide I have ever had in my life. He did a wonderful job highlighting the enslaved people that lived and worked there as well as the Surratts and employees. He really turned my review from a "they did a good job restoring this old house" to a "you really need to stop here." read more

Took a wonderful tour with Dr. Champagne. He's very personable and knowledgeable. Tailored our tour to our interests. I highly suggest checking it out! Very reasonably priced too! read more

I am born and raised in this area and it has taken me 35 years to visit the Mary Surratt House!! It happens frequently around here...if you're from this area you don't really take advantage of all the historic places it has to offer. This is where we work and live so we forget how rich the history is here. Anyway...I just visited with my 7 year old. We are studying American history this year. We enjoyed our visit very much!! The tour was excellent and full of information. Our tour guide spent time with us outside exploring the garden explaining how they used different herbs and flowers back then. We then went into the main house and stopped in each took where she gave great information. She took time to interact with the children and answered their questions. The tour was a solid hour and then some. She really did a great job and was so thorough. We ended our the tour in the gift shop and watched a talking map about the path that John Wilkes Booth took that night and the days following. It really captured the children's attention. All in all a great visit. It was also decorated for Christmas which was so nice to see around this time of year. read more

See all

I learned a ton from the tour. I would recommend taking 5 to 10 minutes reading up on JWB's escape prior to going as you could get lost quick. The staff is friendly, though, and very willing to elaborate and answer questions. You'll also learn a lot about life in general during that timeframe. read more

For history buffs, especially those who have studied the assassination of President Lincoln, a visit to the Surratt House should be included on any tour of Lincoln-related sites. While not as well known as Ford's Theater or the Peterson House (for obvious reasons), the Surratt House played an important role in the conspiracy to kill the president. It was also the country home of the first female to be executed by the United States government. Tour the tavern where conspirators drank and see the wall where Booth hid the rifles he planned to use in his escape. Talk up the staff, who are dressed in period attire, and share opinions on the guilt or innocence of Mary Surratt, Samuel Mudd, and others! read more

I enjoyed my visit to the Surratt Tavern, our guide did a great job. I was disappointed that there were two rooms closed, due to water damage. I hope that the work goes quick and the rooms are restored soon. It is well wort the trip out of DC, read more

See all

I recently visited the Surratt House and Mudd Farm, must sees for any Lincoln Assassination student. I don't want my review for this to be harsh in comparison to the Mudd Farm, because that place was one of the best historic sites I've ever visited and by far the best one related to the assassination. In comparison, this was fine, but lacked the things needed to make it excel, I would really like to give it 2.5 stars, but as usual, not an option. The main issue is that almost nothing in the house is original to the Surratt family. This is understandable as the majority of historic locations have little to nothing original to the event or person you're there to visit. It's understandable when the place was a house, and people lived there, and items change hands or are discarded over time. Nonetheless, it's still preferable to see not only the structure, but the details of the person or event you're studying. One thing they do have, which was a pleasant surprise, is one of the "shooting irons" that the Surratts' had John Lloyd hide in the house so that Boothe could use them on his escape. Those shooting irons, or rifles, were the most damning evidence against Mary Surratt and the primary reason she was hung. So, getting to see one of the rifles was amazing. The secondary issue relevant to the house was the tour was not very factual. I hate to bag on docents, these people are volunteers who give their time so that people like me can enjoy a piece of living history. The gentleman who gave my tour was very nice, and had passing familiarity with the assassination and with the Surratt family that wouldn't be noticed by someone who had not studied the conspiracy but several of his facts stood out to me. The timing of John Surratt Sr. dying, when the house was leased to John Lloyd, mention of John Surratt Jr. and Mary's visits back to their leased property were often wrong. Regardless, that was just one docent so it may not be a common occurrence. If you're a student of the Lincoln Assassination, you definitely have to check this off your list. I would recommend combining it with the Mudd Farm and be sure to check out what dates and hours both locations are open. They both have limited schedules, so you don't want to waste a trip out there. read more

I learned so much from our trip to the Surratt House over the weekend. We had a great time. There was plenty of free parking, and the docent was knowledgeable, funny, and friendly. We spent about 2 hours seeing the whole museum, and the gift shop had White House ornaments on a terrific sale! They even had an additional 15% off for Christmas. You will learn a lot about the Emancipation Proclamation (even if you think you already know a lot about it), and about Maryland's part in the Civil War. You may also learn some things about Dr. Mudd that you won't learn at the Dr. Mudd house. For example, it was here that I learned that John Mudd had met John Surratt and John Wilkes-Booth before JWB happened upon his doorstep. I'd been to the Mudd House just a few weeks before, but they didn't tell us this. Interestingly, however, JWB never set foot in the Surratt House. He was too badly injured to dismount his horse. He remained outside. (Now, you can look like a smarty-pants when the docent asks this question. ;) ) Loved it. The admission was $3. A bargain! read more