The childhood home of Abraham Lincoln?s assassin may see new life as a county-owned museum and space for special events.
Harford County Executive David Craig gave officials of the Maryland Historical Trust a tour last week of the 1847 building that was once home to one of America?s most famous acting families ? and John Wilkes Booth, one of its most famous assassins.
The Historical Trust could provide the county with grants that would fund the acquisition of the house and the creation of museum programs, if the building had maintained enough of its historical character over nearly 160 years, Craig said.
“The general consensus is that the Bakers [the current owners] have done a very good job maintaining the property,” Craig said. “What was done on the outside fits with the nature of the home, and what was done on the inside wasn?t substantive.”
If the county successfully purchases the property, Craig envisioned it becoming a combination of museum space and rental space for special events ? similar to the Liriodendron mansion in Bel Air or Swan Harbor Farm in Havre de Grace.
The Booth family, though overshadowed by John Wilkes? assassination of President Lincoln, was once quite famous in its own right for producing some of the era?s finest Shakespearean actors ? patriarch Junius Brutus, sons Junius Brutus Jr., Edwin and John Wilkes were all major contributors to the history of theater in Maryland, said Historical Society of Harford County Maryanna Skowronski.
“There is still a lot of interest in the Booth family,” Skowronski said. “Yes, the house was John Wilkes Booth?s birthplace, but its theatrical history was just as important.”
Harford County officials have been interested in buying the property for the last four weeks, ever since the house failed to sell in an auction in early April, when no one met the owners? required minimum bid of $805,000.
Craig said the county was waiting for appraisals of the property to come back sometime next week.
“If the appraisal comes back and it?s close to the price the owners want, we?ll sit down and begin negotiations,” Craig said.
