Built more than 150 years ago, the Lincoln-Tallman House in Janesville is a landmark of historic architecture. It’s also the only surviving residence in Wisconsin where Abraham Lincoln actually slept.

The three-story mansion of pale yellow brick at 440 N. Jackson St. in Janesville was once called “the finest and most costly residence in Wisconsin.” For almost 60 years it was the home of one of the city’s most prominent families. Thanks to generous donors and dedicated volunteers, recent renovations have restored this gem to its original glory, so it can continue to be visited and appreciated as a priceless window into an important chapter of our history.

The Tallman House was built by William Morrison Tallman, a lawyer from Rome, N.Y. While out East, Tallman was an active abolitionist and a member of the Anti-Slavery Party, who apparently used his New York home as a station on the Underground Railroad to assist escaped slaves. In the late 1840s, Tallman purchased parcels of prime land in the Wisconsin Territory totaling nearly 4,500 acres. Most were in Green, Lafayette, Grant and Iowa counties. He sold them at great profit, never netting less than four times the original price.

In 1850, he moved his family to Janesville and in 1855 began the construction of his Italian Villa-style home on a three-acre bluff overlooking the Rock River at the north edge of town. Using the best materials available, workmen finished the house in 1857 at a cost of $33,000 in gold. Additional work done by 1870 brought the total cost to $42,000, the equivalent of more than $1.5 million today.

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Tags: abraham lincoln, beloit, history, janesville, lincoln-tallman house, rock county, rock county historical society

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