Restor(y)ation at the Lincoln Homestead
Restoring House and History
Thursday, July 17, 2025, 7 pm
President Abraham Lincoln’s great-grandfather John Lincoln moved from Pennsylvania and settled in the Linville Creek area of Rockingham County in 1768. Although John’s eldest son, Abraham, grandfather of the president, migrated to Kentucky, a younger son, Jacob, remained to build the present Federal farmhouse ca. 1800 near the site of the original family home.—Virginia Department of Historic Resources
When Sarah and Benjamin Bixler purchased the Lincoln Homestead in 2019, they knew the house would require an enormous amount of work. But more than restoring the building itself, they found an invitation to re-story-ation as they learned about the lives of the Lincoln family and those they enslaved at this historic Linville landmark. Sarah will share about their restorative approach to house and history at the Lincoln Homestead.
Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler is Associate Dean of the Seminary and Associate Professor of Formation and Practical Theology at Eastern Mennonite University. She holds a PhD and Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and a BA in English and Secondary Education from Eastern Mennonite University.
Sarah and Benjamin Bixler, along with their three children and Benjamin’s parents, steward and live at the historic Lincoln Homestead in Linville, Virginia.