The 1946 "Boothies"' trip

[Laurie Verge]

I believe that James O. Hall was the first to establish where the Lucas cabin was located. He specified the general location on the first Booth Tour that he did for the Surratt House in 1977.

One thing to consider is that the entrance to Cleydael and the "front" of the house is the exact opposite of what it would have been in 1865. Because of the new development around the house, the entrance road was changed completely.

When we first did the tours, we went down the main state route for about another 100 yards or more before turning left into a worn, gravel road that was the driveway to Cleydael. After about fifty feet, we had to stop and walk the rest of the way in. The front door of the house actually faces in that direction. What the new driveway now leads up to is the old back door and porch.

That said, the location of the Lucas cabin as best as we can tell would have been in the back acreage of Cleydael and not unusual since most slave cabins/freemen cabins were behind the big house.