The Dr. Samuel Mudd House & Museum
The Dr. Samuel Mudd House & Museum
4.5
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The original house of Dr. Samuel Mudd, the physician who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth.
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4.5
113 reviews
Excellent
73
Very good
34
Average
3
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3
Terrible
0
Richard Z
2 contributions
Nov 2022 • Couples
Wow! We have driven past the signs for a few years and finally made a stop. We took the tour of the house and the lady that gave it was very informative. We learned things about Booth and the Mudds that are not taught in any school. The house is great and the grounds are nice. We would recommend the Mudd house to anyone that is in the area and wants to gain some knowledge on exactly what and how it really happened!!
They have a gift shop that is very well stocked also.
They have a gift shop that is very well stocked also.
Written 22 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rzimmeriii
California, MD61 contributions
Sept 2023 • Couples
Outstanding look into the escape of John Wilkes Booth and his stop along the route. There is a small entrance fee and well worth it. The lady that led our tour was very knowledgeable and told an amazing story of how he came to be at the Mudd house. The tour took about 45 min or so and then you can roam the area. There is a small gift shop.
Written 17 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Jordan Lyons
6 contributions
Apr 2023 • Solo
This place is such an absolute gem. Incredible history preserved and there for you to step in to. I took the house tour and also an outside walking tour of Booth’s escape route to the Zekiah Swamp led by a historian named Bob who was FANTASTIC!!! So knowledgeable and kind and engaging. I feel so fortunate to have had the experience and couldn’t recommend it more!!! Go experience history come alive!
Written 9 April 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
LAURIE S
Buckhannon, WV599 contributions
July 2023 • Couples
Julie as our docent brought civil war history to life. The hour tour went through the house, the outdoor property, and the trial proceedings. It was so informative! There are no admission discounts and a small gift shop. We are so glad we stopped for this tour!
Written 12 July 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sioux64
Hartford, CT36 contributions
Apr 2012 • Couples
The house and grounds are beautiful, and are truly representative of its location and period. The docents are costumed in period dress and whisk you throughout the house discussing the furnishings and personal belongings of the Mudd family.
Unfortunately, I was not attracted to the house for the above reasons. but for its association with the escape of John Wilkes Booth after his assassination of President Lincoln. If you are looking for an in-depth history lesson of Dr. Mudd's involvement with John Wilkes Booth, you will be sorely disappointed. It would have been nice to hear more about the night JWB stopped at Dr. Mudd's house, the lengths Dr. Mudd went to cover his tracks/story regarding his involvement with JWB, and his arrest, trial and incarceration in federal prison. This would make for a much more intereseting tour and preserve the historical integrity of the museum. As a whole, visitors are not drawn to the Mudd house for its furnishings, but for its important placement in history.
Unfortunately, I was not attracted to the house for the above reasons. but for its association with the escape of John Wilkes Booth after his assassination of President Lincoln. If you are looking for an in-depth history lesson of Dr. Mudd's involvement with John Wilkes Booth, you will be sorely disappointed. It would have been nice to hear more about the night JWB stopped at Dr. Mudd's house, the lengths Dr. Mudd went to cover his tracks/story regarding his involvement with JWB, and his arrest, trial and incarceration in federal prison. This would make for a much more intereseting tour and preserve the historical integrity of the museum. As a whole, visitors are not drawn to the Mudd house for its furnishings, but for its important placement in history.
Written 7 May 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
MiouMiou
West Long Branch, NJ1,073 contributions
The Dr. Samuel Mudd house was recently featured on the tv show Ghost Hunters. We have driven past here many times on our way to visit friends in Waldorf, and after seeing the show, we had to visit for ourselves.
This property has a very interesting, and some say haunted, history. Briefly, the house became famous after John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. When Booth jumped off the balcony of the Ford Theater he injured his leg, and then fled to Dr. Mudd's house. Booth hid out at the house for three days, and Dr. Mudd treated Booth's injured leg. during that time. When the Union Army came searching Dr. Mudd's house, Dr. Mudd denied seeing Booth. Booth was eventually captured, and during his trial, it was revealed that he had stayed at Dr. Mudd's house, and Dr. Mudd was then tried for treason and sentenced to prison. Dr. Mudd's defense was that he did not know that Booth had killed Lincoln. To this day the Mudd family is trying to clear Dr. Mudd's name.
The tragedy surrounding this house is that the Mudd family had an 18 month old child that was gravely injured when it fell off a split rail fence upon which it had been sitting. The child was brought upstairs to the nursery and placed in its' crib, where the child died. I took the time to explain some of the house's history because it relates to the strange experiences we had during our visit.
The house has much of the original furnishings, including the sofa that John Wilkes Booth lay on. We were met by a very personable guide at the front door of the house, wearing period costume, and this knowledgeable woman gave us a very interesting history of the house. She pointed out that much of the furnishings in the house are original. As I stated, the parlor has the original John Wilkes Booth sofa, a pianoforte that belonged to the Mudd family, and other original furnishings. The dining room is beautifully furnished in period furniture, and Dr. Mudd's medical office is there in its' entirety, complete with small glass bottles, his medical bag, medicines from the period, the bed he slept on in his office.
Upstairs in the house three of the bedrooms were on display. One of the bedrooms had a bed that Booth had slept in, and there was also very beautiful period women’s clothing in that room. The nursery was intact, with the original crib. All of the rooms in the house were completely furnished.
The most interesting room in the house was the kitchen, which was separate from the main house, as was the custom of that time. The kitchen was filled with many original cooking utensils that were in use in the old days, and we had some fun trying to figure out just what some of those utensils were.
There were as number of out buildings on the property, including the out house, a large barn that was being used to dry tobacco, and a farm implements museum. There were a couple of other buildings but they in the process of being renovated so we did not get to go inside. There is also a well on the property that is no longer in use. You are not permitted to take photos inside the house, only outside and in the outbuildings.
Now for the strange things that happened. On the day we went to the Dr. Mudd house the temperature outside was 73 degrees. When we went upstairs into the nursery, when we walked directly in front of the crib, you could feel a temperature drop of almost 20 degrees. If you ran your hand over the top of the crib you would feel the same cold temperature. Take a step to the left or right and the temperature would be back to normal.
In the parlor, to the right of the fireplace, there was a round table with a tablecloth on it, and some other odds and ends. This is the room with the John Wilkes Booth sofa. When we walked into that room, looking on the wall in the corner of the fireplace, there was a most definite shadow profile of a person sitting in a chair. I pointed it out to my husband and he did not see what I was seeing, nor did our guide.
We then left the room, and at the conclusion of our tour our guide brought us to the gift shop, where we got to meet Dr. Mudd’s great grandson, who worked there. I told him about what I saw, and he asked me to write down my observations in a book he kept for that purpose, since other people have seen other things on this property. I asked the tour guide to take us back to the parlor, I wanted to see if I could see the shadow again. She took us back, I still saw the shadow, this time she said she also saw the profile shadow I was seeing, and my husband still saw nothing.
Other people have stated they have seen Confederate troops marching on the property, around the well, they say they hear a women laughing and crying, have felt a child tug at their clothing, and have heard a voice say “I’m not guilty.” People also report seeing a woman standing at the upstairs window.
There is a lot to see and maybe experience on at the Dr. Mudd house, and it well worth a visit. The guide told us that the house will be decorated in a Victorian style for the holidays, and we would love to return again to see it then.
This property has a very interesting, and some say haunted, history. Briefly, the house became famous after John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln. When Booth jumped off the balcony of the Ford Theater he injured his leg, and then fled to Dr. Mudd's house. Booth hid out at the house for three days, and Dr. Mudd treated Booth's injured leg. during that time. When the Union Army came searching Dr. Mudd's house, Dr. Mudd denied seeing Booth. Booth was eventually captured, and during his trial, it was revealed that he had stayed at Dr. Mudd's house, and Dr. Mudd was then tried for treason and sentenced to prison. Dr. Mudd's defense was that he did not know that Booth had killed Lincoln. To this day the Mudd family is trying to clear Dr. Mudd's name.
The tragedy surrounding this house is that the Mudd family had an 18 month old child that was gravely injured when it fell off a split rail fence upon which it had been sitting. The child was brought upstairs to the nursery and placed in its' crib, where the child died. I took the time to explain some of the house's history because it relates to the strange experiences we had during our visit.
The house has much of the original furnishings, including the sofa that John Wilkes Booth lay on. We were met by a very personable guide at the front door of the house, wearing period costume, and this knowledgeable woman gave us a very interesting history of the house. She pointed out that much of the furnishings in the house are original. As I stated, the parlor has the original John Wilkes Booth sofa, a pianoforte that belonged to the Mudd family, and other original furnishings. The dining room is beautifully furnished in period furniture, and Dr. Mudd's medical office is there in its' entirety, complete with small glass bottles, his medical bag, medicines from the period, the bed he slept on in his office.
Upstairs in the house three of the bedrooms were on display. One of the bedrooms had a bed that Booth had slept in, and there was also very beautiful period women’s clothing in that room. The nursery was intact, with the original crib. All of the rooms in the house were completely furnished.
The most interesting room in the house was the kitchen, which was separate from the main house, as was the custom of that time. The kitchen was filled with many original cooking utensils that were in use in the old days, and we had some fun trying to figure out just what some of those utensils were.
There were as number of out buildings on the property, including the out house, a large barn that was being used to dry tobacco, and a farm implements museum. There were a couple of other buildings but they in the process of being renovated so we did not get to go inside. There is also a well on the property that is no longer in use. You are not permitted to take photos inside the house, only outside and in the outbuildings.
Now for the strange things that happened. On the day we went to the Dr. Mudd house the temperature outside was 73 degrees. When we went upstairs into the nursery, when we walked directly in front of the crib, you could feel a temperature drop of almost 20 degrees. If you ran your hand over the top of the crib you would feel the same cold temperature. Take a step to the left or right and the temperature would be back to normal.
In the parlor, to the right of the fireplace, there was a round table with a tablecloth on it, and some other odds and ends. This is the room with the John Wilkes Booth sofa. When we walked into that room, looking on the wall in the corner of the fireplace, there was a most definite shadow profile of a person sitting in a chair. I pointed it out to my husband and he did not see what I was seeing, nor did our guide.
We then left the room, and at the conclusion of our tour our guide brought us to the gift shop, where we got to meet Dr. Mudd’s great grandson, who worked there. I told him about what I saw, and he asked me to write down my observations in a book he kept for that purpose, since other people have seen other things on this property. I asked the tour guide to take us back to the parlor, I wanted to see if I could see the shadow again. She took us back, I still saw the shadow, this time she said she also saw the profile shadow I was seeing, and my husband still saw nothing.
Other people have stated they have seen Confederate troops marching on the property, around the well, they say they hear a women laughing and crying, have felt a child tug at their clothing, and have heard a voice say “I’m not guilty.” People also report seeing a woman standing at the upstairs window.
There is a lot to see and maybe experience on at the Dr. Mudd house, and it well worth a visit. The guide told us that the house will be decorated in a Victorian style for the holidays, and we would love to return again to see it then.
Written 1 November 2009
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
pletzkeb
Herndon, Virginia318 contributions
July 2013 • Couples
My husband and I visited the house on a Wednesday, the day before the 4th of July. The admission is $7.00 per person and the tour lasts about 45 minutes. We were the only two on the tour. Mary Ann, our tour guide was excellent. She seemed to know everything about the family. Two descendants of Dr. Mudd were in the gift shop. You see the actual couch where Dr. Mudd examined John Wilkes Booth's broken leg and the room where he slept. This is a very interesting tour. Beware, there have been ghost sightings.
Written 7 July 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julia W
London, UK126 contributions
Apr 2015 • Couples
Imagine an actor of the calibre of Johnny Depp or Brad Pitt shooting the US president dead and then fleeing through the Maryland countryside throwing the whole country into mass hysteria and triggering the biggest manhunt in history. This is what happened in April 1865 and the Dr Samuel Mudd house is a crucial part of the story. Preserved in the family until the 1970s and then carefully turned into a museum it contains very many artifacts that were there when John Wilkes Booth arrived in agony with a broken leg. Our guide Dorothea shared her vast knowledge of these events with us and gripped us with stories of the characters involved. We found out the indisputable reasons why it was definitely Wilkes Booth who was killed later by Union troops (no, he didn't escape and live a long life), we found out how Dr Mudd escaped being hung for his 'crime' by just one juror vote and how he and Booth were not strangers on the night Booth infamously sought the doctor's help. This is one of the best small museums we've come across in the USA and if you have any interest in US history at all (or the paranormal for it is undoubtably haunted) you must make a visit.
Written 12 April 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
scalper2
5 contributions
June 2012 • Family
A nice historical home of Dr Mudd. The doctor that set the leg of Assain John W Booth, who shot Abraham Lincoln at Fords Theater. The House serves as a Museum and a small gift shopp. A very nice tour is available through the house with a very informative guide. The gift shop is operated by the decendents of Dr Mudd, where you can meet and talk to the Great Granddaughter of Dr Mudd. The tour days and hours are limited due to limited funds available to the foundation but well worth the trip, I suggest you call ahead for operational hours. There are many other sites to visit nearby, associated with the assasination. Port Tobacco Courthouse(where Booth and conspirators met), St Marys Church (Bryantown, where Dr Mudd is Buried), Mary Suratt house located in Clinton Maryland, all within 20 minutes from the house. If you are willing to go further, Fords theater, Marker where Booth was shot, and many others are within an hour drive from the house.
Written 12 May 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
catherine R
Waldorf, MD24 contributions
Dec 2012
This historical property is well maitained and the docents have a passion for the history of the house and the events that surround the family. I would recommend you visit when the re-enactors are present, and by the way, Dr Mudd is buried close by at St Mary's Bryantown Church's graveyard.
Written 1 January 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
animalgal
Orlando, Florida
Is there a bus tour that goes here from D.C? We won't have a car and will rely on tours to do everything.
Written 6 June 2019
None that I know of. It would be cheaper to rent a car for the day and visit places in that area. Mary Surratts House is not far from there.
Written 8 June 2019
What address should I use in my GPS? Is there a website? What hours is the home open for tours?
Written 12 March 2015
Open Hours:
Wednesdays and Saturdays: 11 am - 4 pm
Sundays: noon - 4:00 pm
Tours start on the hour and half-hour, and the last tour begins at 3:30 pm.
Holiday Closures:
Easter Sunday: April 5th
Their address they have is 3725 Dr Samuel Mudd Road, Waldorf, MD. 20601.
Written 13 March 2015
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