David Wills House Grand Opening

The private home where Lincoln stayed the night before giving the Gettysburg Address.

On Thursday, February 12, 2009, Gettysburg locals, tourists, and dignitaries came to celebrate the grand opening of the David Wills House - a 7.2 million dollar joint project between the National Park Service and Main Street Gettysburg. Among the many in attendance on Thursday were State Representative Dan Moul, R-91; State Senator Rich Alloway, R-33; Tom Corbett, State Attorney General; former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; Gettysburg Mayor Bill Troxell; and Gettysburg National Military Park Superintendent John Latschar.

The Gettysburg Times described the event as the biggest 200th birthday party held for Abraham Lincoln in the United States. The Baltimore Sun wrote that the mahogany bed where Lincoln is reported to have slept in the David Wills House, is the most popular part of the museum.   

The David Wills House features six galleries. Gallery one is The Wills Parlor: War Comes to Town containing information and pictures about the development of Gettysburg. Gallery two is the restored and renovated David Wills' Office, with the original furniture that Wills used.

Visitors can then walk through gallery three, the stairwell foyer and corridor where Lincoln once walked. Gallery four showcases the parlor where Lincoln sat and revised the Gettysburg Address.

Gallery five is the renovated bedroom where Lincoln slept the night before giving the Gettysburg Address; the bed and other furniture are all pieces that Lincoln used in 1863. Gallery six features a documentary film about the legacy of the address, and gallery seven is "The Wills House Through Time."

More information on dates, times and galleries at the David Wills House can be found at the National Park Service Gettysburg Military Park.