Dr. Mudd's House

Photos by Greg

Our next stop on our escape route was Dr. Samuel Mudd's house. This is where Booth and his accomplice stopped to get Booth's broken leg set.

For those who may not be familiar with this whole story, Booth broke his leg by jumping from the Presidential balcony onto the stage at Ford's Thearter after he shot Abraham Lincoln in the back of the head. He yelled the famous phrase, "Sic Semper Tyranus!" which means "Thus always to tyrants!" and also happens to be the Virginia state motto.

Anyway, back to the house. Dr. Mudd was mainly a farmer and loved to work the land. It's almost like being a doctor was a thing he did on the side. He was eventually sentences to life in prison in Dry Tortugas for helping Booth. Some people think he was innocent, but as our guide repeatedly said, "It's a gray area."

The actual house and property was really, really beautiful and is well preserved. The house was filled with original furniture and a bunch of things that Dr. Mudd made himself while in prison. There were also two barns that were filled with other weird things like old farming equipment and another that had a civil war display that looked like it was made by a high school student as a project his or her senior year. Kind of weird, but also kind of awesome.

Next stop, the Pine Thicket (briefly) and Garrett Place!