Gen. Benjamin Lincoln House 

Visiting Hingham, we happened to come across the house while exploring the town and decided to take the tour. As it turned out, we were the only people there at the time, which gave us the opportunity to move slowly through the home, spending time in each r zoom and hearing the stories connected to General Benjamin Lincoln and his family.

What makes the house especially remarkable is not simply its connection to Revolutionary War history, but how much of the family’s presence remained inside it. Multiple generations of the Lincoln family lived in the home for decades carefully preserving the original furnishings, objects and personal belongings. The house feels lived in, almost as though the family had only recently stepped away.

General Benjamin Lincoln played a significant role in the American Revolution, even though his name is not remembered as widely today as Washington, Adams or Revere. He served as one of George Washington’s most trusted generals and participated in some of the most important moments of the war.

Lincoln’s military career included both great hardship and great honor. In 1780, he commanded American forces during the fall of Charleston, South Carolina, one of the largest American defeats of the Revolution. Washington continued to trust Lincoln and the following year, Lincoln was selected to participate in one of the most symbolic moments of the Revolution, the British surrender of Yorktown in 1781. Because British General Cornwallis refused to appear personally, his second-in-command formally surrendered to Benjamin Lincoln. Lincoln became the figure who accepted the surrender that effectively ended the Revolutionary War.

After the war, Lincoln continued serving the new nation including as Secretary of War. He remained an important figure during the nation’s early years.  

What makes the house is how carefully it is preserved by the Lincoln family over generations. Many historic homes lose their original contents and become stage museum spaces. Here, everything has remained intact because the descendants continued living in and caring for the home for decades. The continuity gives this house an authenticity that is difficult to recreate.