We drove about 20 miles north of Springfield, to the New Salem State Historical site. Fun fact: Even though he was an adult, he had only one year of formal education when he arrived here.
Young Abe tried several careers during the six years he lived in New Salem. For example, at one time he was postmaster, and also a general handy man. He and a friend bought a general store, but the Berry-Lincoln store couldn't survive in this town that already had a well-established and experienced merchant.
His most successful endeavor was his time spent surveying this area of Illinois. A statue of young Abe, the surveyor, is on display at this state historic site. Fun Fact: He actually was forced to sell his horse, saddle, and surveying equipment to settle his losses on the failed store. But a local friend bought them at the sheriff's auction and returned them to the young Abe so he had a way to support himself.
Also during those six years in New Salem, Abraham Lincoln read all the books he could find, including law books loaned to him by a lawyer mentor. With that new knowledge, a more experienced Abraham Lincoln moved to the big town--Springfield, to start his career in law. The National Park Service has purchased the real estate in this area of the city, so the neighborhood looks just like it did in the 1840's.
At the age of 33, Abraham Lincoln convinced Mary Todd to marry him. He had almost given up on finding a wife. In fact, he wrote, "I can never be satisfied with anyone who would be blockhead enough to have me." Fun Fact: Mary turned him down the first time he proposed. They would move into a little cottage in Springfield, which they enlarged as their family enlarged. We got a ticket for a tour of the Lincoln house.
We were ushered into the living room where the Lincolns entertained guests. Fun fact: It was also here that the Republican National Committee came to tell Abraham that he had won the party's nominee for President. It was the first time that these prominent Republicans had ever met Honest Abe. We think the process has changed a little since then!
Some of the furnishings are original, even though this desk had been altered since it was in the Lincoln household. When Abe gave this desk to a neighbor, the legs were shortened because it was too tall. Fun fact: Abraham Lincoln was unusually tall for the time at 6 foot 4 inches.
Our tour included the entire house, included the very tiny kitchen. Fun fact: When they won the presidential election, and headed to the White House, Mary wanted to take this favorite stove with her. It took some fancy talking for Abe to convince her that they had fine stoves in Washington DC as well.
The Lincolns were ahead of their time. This was their door bell. A real bell attached to the front door with a spring-loaded wire, alerted them that they had company at the door.
While we are trying to keep things chronological, there is one stop that includes every aspect of Abraham Lincoln's life. That would be the required stop at the Lincoln Presidential Museum.
After entering at the grand hall in the picture above, there are two routes through the museum. The one on the left is through the little log cabin like the one where Abe Lincoln was born.
Throughout the museum are remarkably life-like scenes, like this one of Abe reading by the light of the fire while everyone else in the cabin was asleep. We knew they were asleep, because we could see the blankets moving and hear the snoring.
We saw young Abe as a store owner in New Salem, but we all know that didn't turn out well.
Starting his political career, we saw a scene from one of the famous Lincoln-Douglass debates. Fun fact: Douglass was 12 inches shorter than Lincoln. Another Fun fact: Douglas would win the senate race after these debates, but Lincoln would win the presidential race against Douglas a few years later.
Abraham and Mary would have four sons, and they both agreed to spare the rod and spoil the children. It wasn't unusual for Abraham to take the boys with him to the law office on the weekend. It was his habit to leave them totally unsupervised, much to the chagrin of his law partner. The partner wrote, "These children would come to our office and take down books - empty buckets - coal ashes - ink stands - gold pens, put them in a pile, then dance on the pile!"
The second half of the museum took us through Lincoln's life after winning the presidential election. In fact, we're pictured below with the entire family as they looked when they moved into the White House.
We also got some presidential practice, as Mark is pictured at the podium reading a famous speech from the teleprompter. There were more exhibits, and two great theater experiences in the museum. In almost four years on the road, this is one of the best museums ever!
We spent an entire day at that museum, and our legs were tired like we had hiked a ten-mile trail. So another day, we took a hike to the next chronological stop in Lincoln's life. About a half-mile from our camping spot is Oak Ridge cemetery, where this giant obelisk marks Abraham Lincoln's final resting place.
Fun fact: It's supposed to be good luck to rub President Lincoln's nose. We're not sure if this is good luck for him, as his tomb features a very shiny bronze nose.
From the outside, this is a grand-looking tomb. But there's more inside to see--like bronze statues of Abraham Lincoln in different stages of his life.
He is buried inside this vault, surrounded by flags. Fun fact: The flags on the left were the states where his ancestors lived, while the flags on the right are the states where Lincoln resided. Sad fact: Three of his four children are also buried in this tomb. Only one child survived to adulthood.
While many different statues line the inside walls of the tomb, this is probably the most recognizable. It's a smaller replica of the statue inside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
Our last stop is the original grave where Lincoln was laid to rest on the day of his funeral here in Springfield. That grand tomb we just visited took some time to build, so this temporary vault at Oak Ridge cemetery was used for several years.
We've really enjoyed our time learning about Abraham Lincoln, and the collection of fun and sad facts that come from spending a few days hanging out in his old stomping grounds around Springfield, Illinois.
We took granddaughters to Springfield last summer. Saw most of these sites and also the house where his father and step-mother lived. And took a picture of the girls standing with the family as you two did. Thanks for the memories.
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