The Burnet House

Opened on May 30, 1850, the 340-room Burnet House was considered one of the finest hotels in the world. Abraham Lincoln stayed there on September 17-18, 1859, while campaigning for the Ohio Republican Party, and again on February 12, 1861, during his inaugural journey to Washington, D.C., where he was to be sworn in as the 16th president; from the hotel balcony he voiced his desire to abide by the Constitution on the issue of slavery. After the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862, the hotel served as a hospital for wounded troops cared for by the Cincinnati Sisters of Charity. On March 20, 1864, Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman met in Parlor A to coordinate campaigns against Richmond, VA, and Atlanta, GA, an effort that eventually contributed to Union victory in the Civil War. After the war, local veterans used Parlor A for Grand Army of the Republic meetings. The hotel register included the names of Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, James Buchanan, Stephen A. Douglas, Salmon P. Chase, and Horace Greeley. The Burnet House ceased operations on July 15, 1926, and was razed later that year.

Cincinnati, Ohio · United States