Beginning April 7, 2023, the historic David Wills House will reopen, free of charge, Friday to Sunday, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Effective June 17, 2023, operations will expand to Thursday to Sunday, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. Effective Aug. 18, 2023, operations will return to operating Friday to Sunday, from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. The final day of operations for 2023 will be on Nov. 19, 2023, the 160th Anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. National Park Service Rangers will staff the home located at 8 Lincoln Square in downtown Gettysburg.
Read the National Park Service press release to learn more about the David Wills House, a National Park Service museum.
Visitors to Gettysburg can follow in the footsteps of President Abraham Lincoln starting with his arrival to the railroad station the evening of Nov. 18, 1863, to the David Wills House where he stayed the night before the national cemetery dedication and onto the Gettysburg National Cemetery where President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address.
Now known as the Gettysburg Lincoln Railroad StationTM and home to Gettysburg's first virtual reality experience, presented by the Gettysburg Foundation, Ticket to the Past—Unforgettable Journeys offers visitors the opportunity to step inside the station where U.S. history was made for a new and unique experience. Located at 35 Carlisle Street, the virtual reality experience gives visitors the option to choose to follow one of three historic figures associated with the Battle of Gettysburg and the station and get a glimpse of Preisdent Lincoln's arrival to Gettysburg.
Then, take the short walk from the station to the David Wills House to explore the museum before continuing on to the Gettysburg National Cemetery to visit the burial site of more than 3,500 Union soldiers from the 1863 battle, dedicated Nov. 19, 1863.