Arriving, we had a terrifically uncrowded campground at Lincoln's New Salem, described below by the New Salem website:
He clerked in a store, split rails, enlisted in the Black Hawk War, served as postmaster and deputy surveyor, failed in business, and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834 and 1836 after an unsuccessful try in 1832.
Trekking into the Illinois capital city of Springfield, we found the only house that Abraham and wife Mary ever owned. This national park offers the Junior Ranger badge to children who complete a couple of tasks. We've participated in a number of these in our adventures, and it's always worth our time.
The Lincoln House and several other houses are restored and preserved. The outside is pristine and peaceful (until school groups come through on field trips). The house is pictured below in the pictures on the left.
I've been in presidential houses before (Andrew Jackson's house in Tennessee, Ulysses Grant's house in St. Louis, and Harry Truman's house in Independence, Missouri), so I expected to see a number of acquired items that were true to the period, but not necessarily items truly owned and used by Abraham Lincoln.
| On this, my first visit inside the house, I was pleasantly impressed by the number of items that actually belonged to the Lincoln's. True items included the black chairs and couch pictured (top row), the stereoscope (second row, left), the desk (third row, right, upon which our guide posited that Lincoln may have written his House Divided speech), a trunk (lower left, the bottom part of which was made by Abrahams father, and the cast iron stove (lower right). With all of this, my favorite part of the tour was the staircase, not because of anything hanging on the walls, but because I was allowed to touch the handrail used by the Lincolns themselves. It's the closest I will ever come to shaking hands with our 16th president! This is the place where Abraham Lincoln announced to his wife that he had won the presidency in 1860. A short walk through town, and visitors are faced with Abe's law office and the first state capitol with its classical columns. Lincoln spent a great deal of his time on these streets and in these buildings. |