Mary Todd Lincoln Home


Allen SmartRecorder™ helps preserve historical music


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Hildene Mansion in Manchester, Vermont is the home that Mrs. Lincoln occupied after her years in Washington, DC. With the goal of preserving the roll-playing organ housed in the historic home of President Lincoln's wife, Mr. Frank Thompson of Provincetown, Massachusetts, installed an Allen SmartRecorder™ and transferred to MIDI the large repertoire of roll music. A noted pipe organ rebuilder, Mr. Thompson has also diligently maintained the organ.

Traditionally, each tour of the mansion included a selection played from a roll. Over the years the rolls were deteriorating, and in order to preserve the tradition and the rolls, the Allen SmartRecorder™ was installed. Now tour guides use the SmartRecorder™ to run the show.