The Strevell House

Strevell and Lincoln were close friends and shared many hours together in conversation. One of the most documented meetings between the two occurred on the evening of Jan. 27, 1860. Earlier that day, Lincoln accepted an invitation to speak to the Pontiac Young Men’s Literary Society. He was in Bloomington for a trial and took an afternoon train to Pontiac. After the presentation, Lincoln went to the Strevell House to spend the night. Strevell and Lincoln stayed up late, talking about politics, slavery, and the other national and local issues of the day. During the conversation, Strevell suggested Lincoln might be selected as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate at the upcoming party convention. Lincoln argued he might be chosen as a vice presidential candidate, but did not believe he would gain the top spot on the ticket.

As the conversation turned to less important topics, Strevell — who stood 6 feet tall — said he did not believe Lincoln was really 4 inches taller. Lincoln offered to let himself be measured and stood in a doorway in his stocking feet while Strevell made a scratch in the door frame to mark Lincoln’s height. Strevell then measured, from floor to the mark on the door frame, and found Lincoln to be exactly 6 feet, 4 inches tall.

Strevell moved from Pontiac to Montana in 1879, where he re-established himself as an involved citizen of Miles City. His son, Charles, took up residence in Salt Lake City, UT, where he devoted his life to archeology. Before the Strevells left Pontiac, they removed the door jamb that was marked with Lincoln’s height; it was subsequently placed in a Salt Lake City museum started by Charles Strevell. Jason Strevell died in 1903.

In 2008, the house — which had been divided into apartments — was threatened with demolition. Several Pontiac families, aware of the historic significance of the building, bought the home to save it. In 2009, ownership of the home was transferred to the Livingston County Historical Society. The house was evaluated by several experts in historic restoration and a plan was formulated to return portions of the home to its pre-Civil War condition.

Restoration was complete in spring 2018. Starting in May 2019, the house became home to the exhibit “Nine Days in April: The Lincoln Assassination and the Press.” This exhibit features major newspapers and their headlines from the period immediately following Abraham Lincoln’s assassination as well as newspapers contemporary to Lincoln’s life. It offers fascinating insight to the culture of the time and the importance of print media.