Meet Springfield’s best-known resident and revered icon
Two centuries after his birth, Springfield’s best-known resident remains a revered icon, a leader who bore the weight of destiny to his untimely demise. Born in dire poverty and self-educated, Abraham Lincoln rose to lead our nation during its darkest time. His words inspired Americans during the Civil War, and they inspire us today.
Lincoln was born in Kentucky, grew up in Indiana and came into his own in Illinois. As a young man, he arrived in New Salem. A year later, he was elected captain of a militia company in the Black Hawk Indian wars. When the pioneer village helped elect Lincoln to the state legislature, he had to borrow money to purchase a suit. At the age of 28 he moved to Springfield without enough money to buy a bed. Through initiative, hard work and talent, he became an established, respected lawyer; was elected to the U.S. Congress; debated Stephen Douglas in an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate; and, in 1860, was elected the 16th president of the United States.
As Lincoln left for the nation’s capital in 1861 and the Civil War appeared imminent, he prophetically told a crowd assembled at the train station in Springfield: “I now leave, not
knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested on Washington.”
After Lincoln’s assassination, a grieving nation cast him as a mythic figure. Over the years Springfield has become a destination for many American pilgrimages. But in Lincoln’s hometown you’ll find not only the remnants of Honest Abe the rail-splitter, you’ll also discover a more complex, shrewd and wondrous man than the one likely encountered in your high school textbooks.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM ) is intended to serve current and future generations as both first and last stops on a learning journey. Whether you’re a Lincoln researcher or just curious about the life of the Great Emancipator, you should begin your visit at the museum, on the north side of Jefferson Street. Parking is available across the street to the northwest, on Sixth Street. You will want to plan three hours or more for your visit to the museum and a half-hour to an hour more for a first visit to the library.
All museum exhibits are located on the ground floor, and all facilities are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. On the entryway floor, a compass points visitors to the plaza where the historical tour begins. Visitors see a replica of Lincoln’s boyhood home in Indiana and the front of the White House as it appeared in 1861. From that sunny atrium-like area, with its 70-foot ceiling, visitors may proceed to any of six display areas.
Many will be drawn naturally to the more rustic setting of the log cabin, where “The Journey” – the title of this odyssey through Lincoln’s life – begins. Children who are not as fascinated with Lincoln lore as their elders may enjoy a visit to Mrs. Lincoln’s Attic, a supervised playroom where they may participate in a variety of hands-on activities, including dress-up, playing with giant Lincoln Logs and exploring a large dollhouse version of the Lincoln Home.
“The Journey” begins with a visit to the circa-1820s replica of Lincoln’s boyhood cabin. Lincoln’s life story is depicted with the use of full-size replicas of a slave auction; life in New Salem; the future president’s interest in Ann Rutledge and his courtship of Mary Todd; Linccoln’s law office, with sons Willie and Tad playing on the furniture; the 1860 presidential campaign debate at Galesburg; and Lincoln’s farewell to Springfield. One highlight: a simulated television director’s studio where news stories and commercials for Lincoln’s 1860 presidential campaign are continuously played on video monitors as though the election were being held in modern times.
Part two of “The Journey” begins in a replica of the White House’s Blue Room, where Mary Todd Lincoln appears to extend her arms in welcome. Most of this part of the tour is focused on the Civil War. In the Whispering Gallery, visitors hear the whispering voices of Lincoln’s detractors and see editorial cartoons depicting Abe in ways that make modern editorial images seem tame. In a reproduction of what is now known as the Lincoln Bedroom, a gravely ill Willie is shown with his parents at his side as a White House ball goes on just outside the open door. Also included are replicas of the White House’s basement kitchen and the Cabinet Room, where Lincoln discussed his forthcoming Emancipation Proclamation with a divided cabinet. In one room visitors see the president standing at his desk before signing the proclamation as a barrage of words and projected images depict the world that surrounded him when he put pen to paper.
The journey ends with a reproduction of Lincoln’s coffin as it lay in state on the second floor of Springfield’s first State Capitol.
In the 250-seat Union Theater, a 17minute layered-projection show, Lincoln’s Eyes, depicts the president as each side of the divided nation saw him. The seats tremble when cannons are “fired” into the audience and other special effects add dimension to the story. Although the show presents the entire picture, the message is intended to inspire viewers by revealing the obstacles Lincoln overcame in his effort to serve his country. The theater is also rented to organizations to use for various activities.
A climate-controlled Treasures Gallery displays priceless artifacts from Lincoln’s life. These displays change throughout the year, so what you see in April may be replaced by something else by September.
The SBC Ghosts of the Library theater presentation features a live actor and holographic ghosts, answering the age-old question, “Why do we study this old stuff?” “Ask Mr. Lincoln” is a touch-and-learn display that allows visitors to make selections from a variety of questions about the man and his family. Answers are spoken as related images appear on screen.
The Illinois Gallery hosts a changing variety of presentations about Illinois history and art.
On the south side of Jefferson Street, across from the museum, is the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Admission is free, but all visitors must sign in. Visitors are invited to tour and use the library, which offers a wealth of research material for students, historians and genealogists. Among the site’s many assets is the Steve Neal Reading Room, which has thousands of books about world history and historical figures. The Newspaper Microfilm Area offers access to more than 5,000 newspaper titles from every Illinois county, many from the 19th century. The audiovisual department preserves photographs, broadsides, posters, oral histories and more. Unpublished resources are accessible through the Manuscript Reading Room. Copies of all resources are available by special arrangement.
Visit the restored visitor center at Union Station on the northwest corner of Sixth and Jefferson. Relax and watch the world go by in scenic Union Park.
Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, 212 N. Sixth St., 217-558-8844, www.presidentlincoln.org. Museum hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily (ticket sales end at 4 p.m.). Library hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Public and research hours: 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.; closed Saturday and Sunday. Admission to the library and gift shop is free. Museum admission is $12 for visitors ages 16-61; $9 for seniors 62 and older; $7 for active duty military personnel; $9 for students with a school or college ID; $6 for children 5-15; free for children under age 5. Admission is discounted for prearranged group and school tours.
Illinois Visitor Center at Union Station
Delivering information to visitors that reflects not only Springfield area historic sites and attractions but Illinois tourism as a whole, the Illinois Visitor Center at Union Station is strategically located across from the ALPLM. Additional services available on site include booking of hotel accommodations and special event packages that are scheduled across Illinois.
Union Square Park Union Square Park has been the location of many free events and performances, including the 33rd Illinois Vol. Regiment Band and the 10th Illinois Vol. Cavalry Regiment Band (both Civil War reenactment groups), Mary Lincoln’s Strawberry Party (a summertime family event), July 4 celebrations, Springfield International Folk Dancers and many more musical performances throughout the year.
Look for even more events and performances at Union Square Park in the future at www.presidentlincoln.org. Events of 15 or more people are required to secure a Park Permit. To download a permit application, please visit http://www.alplm.org/union_station/union_square_park.html and click “Request a Union Square Park Permit” or call 217-558-9014. Union Station is open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily and the park is open from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site
It’s best to begin your tour of the Lincoln Home site at the visitor center, 426 S. Seventh St. That’s where you get free admission tickets to the residence, which is located just a short walk away at Eighth and Jackson streets.
The center includes a theater, a gift shop and a Lincoln-themed bookstore. A video tour of the Lincoln home plays throughout the day in the theater. Other videos include the theatrical documentaries Abraham Lincoln: A Journey to Greatness, Homage to Lincoln, and At Home with Mr. Lincoln. They’re all worth a look before or after visiting the home. Be sure to enhance your visit by viewing the “What a Pleasant Home Lincoln Has” exhibit at the Dean House and “If These Walls Could Talk: Saving an Old House” exhibit at the Arnold House. Both houses are across the street from the Lincoln residence and are self-guided; no tickets required.
The site is open year-round. For special events, check out the calendar in the back of this visitor guide.
The area is cared for by the National Park Service and includes not only the house Lincoln and his family lived in for 15 years (1844-1861) but also the restored 19th-century neighborhood surrounding it. The neighborhood takes up four blocks. The sidewalks and streets have been remodeled to resemble post-1860s Springfield, complete with gaslights and a wooden walkway. The Lincoln home is the most recognizable of all the sites. Best of all, it’s open free of charge to the public.
The tour of the Lincoln home isn’t long, but it varies depending on your guide. The family sold most of its furniture after Lincoln was elected president. The house was leased and eventually donated to the state by eldest son Robert. The curators have acquired about 50 of the original furnishings, including Lincoln’s desk.
Lincoln Home National Historic Site, Visitor Center, 426 S. Seventh St. (residence, 413 S. Eighth St.), 217-492-4241, www.nps.gov/liho/index.htm. Open 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. daily except Jan. 1, Thanksgiving and Dec. 25. Admission is free.
Old State Capitol
Across the street from Lincoln’s law office is the Old State Capitol. It’s located off the Adams Street pedestrian mall, between Fifth and Sixth streets. Before the current State Capitol opened in 1877, this was the seat of Illinois state government. Behind its massive oak doors, Lincoln served his final term as a state legislator in 1840-41. As a lawyer he pleaded cases before the state supreme court in this building. Here he delivered his famed “House Divided” speech. After Lincoln was assassinated, his casket was brought here to the Capitol, and 75,000 mourners filed past it to pay their last respects.
As a state representative, Lincoln had a hand in moving the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. In 1834, a popular vote was held to select the capital from one of six sites. Alton came in first, Vandalia second and Springfield third. However, the state legislature decided to repeal the referendum and cast their votes for Springfield.
The Old Capitol Art Fair board hosts a juried art show on the Old State Capitol Plaza each May. This year’s show is May 19 and 20.
The Old State Capitol, 1 Old State Capitol Plaza, 217-785-9363. Open Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 5p.m. Extended summer hours. The last tour begins 45 minutes before closing. Free admission. Donations accepted.
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices
On the south side of the Old State Capitol Plaza, at Sixth and Adams, is the only remaining building in which Lincoln practiced law. On the third floor, Lincoln and his future biographer, William Herndon, worked together from 1844 to 1852. After Lincoln’s death, Herndon traveled the state, pulling Lincoln’s original writings from the files of county courthouses and leaving copies as he visited.
Herndon’s published recollections provide a more intimate look at Lincoln’s life. Herndon had a low opinion of Mary Todd Lincoln, and the feeling was mutual. Herndon believed that the Lincoln children were indulged; they had free run of both the house and their father’s law office, where, to Herndon’s dismay, Lincoln ignored them further messing up his already messy office.
Lincoln’s law cases have been the subject of a long-term project, the Lincoln Legal Papers, which will eventually publish all of Lincoln’s legal writings. Though popular legend concentrates on Lincoln’s sticking up for the underdog, he collected his biggest fees from the Illinois Central Railroad, which hired him to keep the people of McLean County from taxing the corporation’s land. As Henry Whitney said in the 1880s, “As attorney for the Illinois Central Railroad, I had authority to employ additional counsel whenever I chose to do so, and I frequently applied to Lincoln when I needed aid. I never found him unwilling to appear in behalf of a great soulless corporation.”
Though far less lucrative, the 1858 “Almanac Trial” remains one of Lincoln’s best-known cases. The legend goes that upon hearing a witness claim that he saw a murder committed by moonlight, Lincoln produced an almanac showing that the moon wasn’t up at the time. The defendant, “Duff” Armstrong, an acquaintance of Lincoln’s from New Salem, was acquitted. But the case may not have been as open-and-shut as that. Lincoln simply discovered that “moonset,” when the moon falls below the horizon, occurred about an hour after the murder, casting doubt on the witness’ assertion that the moon was directly overhead. Yet, as historian John Walsh has noted, the moon’s position in the sky also depends on the observer’s point of reference – and the moon was, in fact, visible enough to see by. Walsh attributes the famous acquittal less to scientific fact than to the manner in which Lincoln delivered the “evidence,” as well as his closing arguments to the jury. Just what you pay an attorney for – effective representation.
Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, Sixth and Adams, 217-785-7289. Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday during winter and seven days a week during summer. Free admission. Donations accepted.
The Lincoln Tomb
Within hours of Lincoln’s death, the Springfield City Council passed a special resolution seeking to secure the return of the city’s favorite son. During the Washington, D.C., funeral, about 400 people from Illinois attended a special meeting in the White House’s East Room to lobby for the body. Through Robert Todd Lincoln, state politicians convinced Mary Todd Lincoln that her late husband belonged in Springfield. Mary initially resisted. Her first choice was Chicago, followed by Washington. Eventually she relented and only then was she told that a Springfield committee had already purchased land downtown on which to construct a monument. She put her foot down and the president was buried at a quieter resting place in Oak Ridge Cemetery.
Oak Ridge is the largest cemetery in Illinois and the second most visited in the nation, after Arlington National in Washington, D.C. The striking tomb containing Lincoln and his family (except for Robert, who is buried in Arlington) was designed by Larkin Mead and completed nine years after Lincoln’s death. It has been restored several times since. Tours are available, and special events are held throughout the year.
Enter the cemetery by going north on Monument Avenue, which lies off North Grand between First and Second streets. While you’re there, you may want to visit the gravesites of several prominent Illinoisans, including governors, poet Vachel Lindsay and United Mine Workers leader John L. Lewis.
Lincoln Tomb, 1500 Monument Ave., Oak Ridge Cemetery, 217-782-2717, www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/lincoln_tomb.htm. Open May 1-Labor Day, Monday-Sunday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Post Labor Day in September-October 31, Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; November-February, Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; March-April, Tuesday-Saturday, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m. Groups of 15 or more should call 1-800-545-7300 for reservations.
Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site
To better understand the times in which Lincoln lived, be sure to visit New Salem, northwest of Springfield near Petersburg. Here you will discover one of the most educational experiences the Lincoln sites have to offer. Lincoln lived in this pioneer village from 1831 to 1837.
New Salem’s history provides one of the main sources of the Lincoln legend. Despite the “railsplitter” image used during the 1860 election, some historians say that Lincoln went to New Salem specifically to get away from the hard manual labor of his youth. His general store was a failure, in part because his business partner, William Berry, apparently drank more whiskey than he sold. Lincoln was unable to pay off the store’s debts until he moved to Springfield and became a lawyer. While in New Salem, Lincoln boarded at an inn kept by James Rutledge, whose daughter, Ann, was allegedly Lincoln’s sweetheart. Legend has it that when she died in 1835, at the age of 19, Lincoln nearly lost his mind with grief. Today historians are not convinced – some think that the story originated in a lecture given by William Herndon. At the time of her death, Ann Rutledge was engaged to one of Lincoln’s friends, John McNamara.
But historical accuracy is still New Salem’s lure. Though many of the structures were rebuilt over the original sites in the early 1930s, the town adheres to an impressive and painstaking attention to authentic detail. Interpreters in period dress explain how things got done way back when. The 635-acre site also includes gift shops and an indoor museum and theater. During the summer months, Theatre in the Park stages outdoor plays and musicals. Special events are held throughout the year – check the calendar in the back of this guide for dates and times.
Maintained by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, New Salem is also home to a nicely equipped campground. You can easily spend at least a day here, if not a weekend, depending on when you’re visiting.
New Salem is about 20 miles northwest of Springfield on Route 97, called Jefferson Street in town. GPS Coordinates - N39.58.550’ W89.50.511. Call 217-632- 4000, www.lincolnsnewsalem.com. Open Nov. 1 – Feb. 28, Wednesday through Sunday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.; March 1 – April 15, Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.; April 16 – Sept. 15, Sunday through Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Sept. 16 – Oct. 31, Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Free admission. Suggested donations $2 children ages 12 and under, $4 adults or $10 for a family.
The Great Western Railroad Depot
No single historical event in Springfield is more poignantly considered than Abraham Lincoln’s “Farewell Address,” which he delivered to thousands of friends and well-wishers from this site on Feb. 11, 1861. From here, he departed for Washington, D.C., to lead a nation that was splitting in two. Visitors to the depot can see a short video about the 12-day train trip to Lincoln’s first inauguration. Authorities were so fearful of a rumored assassination plot in Baltimore that they persuaded Lincoln to leave the train in Philadelphia. He completed the journey unannounced, riding into the nation’s capital in a heavily guarded sleeping car.
At the time this visitor guide was published, it was uncertain whether the Depot would open for the 2012 season because of accessibility concerns. You can always view the outside of the building, but call ahead if you plan to view the inside.
Great Western Railroad Depot, Tenth and Monroe streets, 217-544-8695. www.nps.gov/liho/great-western-depot.htm Open 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily, May through August. Free admission.
“Lincoln’s church”
Located inside the First Presbyterian Church is the family pew rented by Abraham and Mary Lincoln when they attended Sunday services at the church’s original location at Third and Washington streets, the current site of Springfield’s Amtrak station. Services for Mary Todd Lincoln’s funeral were held at the church where it stands today. Interestingly, Abraham Lincoln never joined this – or any – church.
Between 1890 and 1922, seven memorial windows by the world-famous glassmaker and artist Louis Comfort Tiffany were installed. Until air conditioning proliferated beyond movie houses and taverns, their bottom portions swung open to permit better air circulation during sweltering summer Sunday services. Sealed and protected against the elements since the mid-1960s, they are historical testament to a unique art form – symphonies of sunlight for citizens and tourists trekking between the nearby Lincoln Home Visitor Center and the Old State Capitol.
First Presbyterian Church, 321 S. Seventh. Docent-guided tours are available 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Fri., June-September. All other times, group tours may be arranged by calling 217-528-4311. For more information, go to www.lincolnschurch.org/html/Tours.html.
Lincoln ledger
Inside the lobby of the downtown Chase Bank you can look at original bank statements signed by Abraham Lincoln. They include expenditures for such mundane items as grocery bills and his monthly mortgage payments. This very personal glimpse of the Great Emancipator reveals an ordinary citizen who purchased the trappings of upper-middle-class life just like everybody else. What did he buy? Visit and see for yourself!
The Lincoln ledger is in the Chase Bank lobby, Sixth and Washington streets, 217- 527-3860. Open 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday. Free admission.
