Abraham Lincoln slept here in October 1859 — and according to docents, some presences never left the Italianate mansion.
440 N Jackson St, Janesville, WI 53548
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Admission fee for museum tours; check Rock County Historical Society website for current rates
Access
Limited Access
Six-floor historic mansion on a bluff; stairs throughout; limited elevator access
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1857 · Abraham Lincoln's only documented Wisconsin overnight (October 1859) · Underground Railroad abolitionist history · Italianate architecture — National Register of Historic Places 1970 · Rock County Historical Society museum since 1950
William Tallman bought more than 4,400 acres of Wisconsin Territory land in the late 1840s before relocating his family to Janesville. Already an abolitionist who had lectured against slavery in the East and whose Rome, New York home had served as an Underground Railroad station, Tallman commissioned local builder George Barnes to construct a new home beginning in 1855.
The house — finished in 1857 at a cost of $33,000, with additional work in 1870 bringing the total to $42,000 — stands six floors high with 20 rooms. Built in the Italianate style using Cream City brick, it featured cast-iron window trim, black walnut doors with hand-carved panels, central heating, gas lighting piping, running water, and an indoor privy: high-end conveniences for the era.
Abraham Lincoln visited Janesville October 1–3, 1859, arriving from Milwaukee where he had spoken at the Wisconsin State Fair. William Tallman drove to Beloit to personally persuade Lincoln to visit. Lincoln addressed a Republican gathering in Janesville and overnighted at the Tallman house — the only documented Wisconsin overnight stay in his pre-presidential travels. The Tallman family lived in the house from 1857 to 1915, then donated it to the City of Janesville in 1950 on the condition it operate as a public museum. The Rock County Historical Society has managed it since and listed it on the National Register of Historic Places in October 1970.
Sources
The Lincoln-Tallman House has drawn paranormal investigators for years, with staff and visiting teams reporting similar phenomena independent of one another. Docents describe unexplained footsteps on floors they know to be empty and personal items shifting position between tours. The upper floors — particularly the area near the bedroom associated with Lincoln's 1859 visit — are cited most frequently.
A Gazette Extra feature documented a formal investigation team's findings in 2023: the team recorded audio anomalies and reported equipment failures consistent with electromagnetic interference in rooms with no obvious wiring sources. The apparitions described are consistently female figures in period-appropriate dress, moving through hallways before disappearing. No named historical figures are attached to the accounts; investigators and docents describe the phenomena as belonging to the house rather than to any specific known resident.
Rock County Historical Society docents lead tours through the 20-room Italianate mansion, including the second-floor bedroom where Abraham Lincoln slept during his October 1–3, 1859 visit. The tour covers William Tallman's abolitionist history, the home's Underground Railroad connections, and the family's eventual donation of the house to the city.
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
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