The Land of Lincoln - Springfield, Illinois

Visited August 26-28, 2022

By Janell

We were in a Springfield, IL suburb for three nights, but we were in "tourist mode" in Springfield for just one day. It was a very full day though, as you will soon see.

We started the day by being at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site when they opened. They don't sell tickets to the home online, only in person, on the day of the tour (go figure). We didn't want a repeat of what happened to us at FDR's home in Hyde Park, NY, where we showed up only to find that all of the home tours were sold out for the day.

A self-taught lawyer with only one year of frontier schooling, Abraham Lincoln rode his horse into Springfield, Illinois in 1837 with all his belongings in two saddlebags. Mary Todd, who arrived two years later, was well educated and from a prominent Kentucky family. The two were married in November 1842, and their first son, Robert was born in 1843. In 1844, the Lincoln family bought a one-story cottage from Reverend Charles Dresser, who had married the Lincolns. 

Over the years the Lincolns enlarged the cottage, including adding a second story, to accommodate their growing family. The Lincoln family lived in this house in Springfield for 17 years. Three of their four sons were born here (Edward, William & Thomas), and one died here (Edward). Sadly, their eldest son, Robert was the only one who lived to adulthood.

Many times when we're visiting an historic home, the artifacts are correct to the time period but not necessarily something that belonged to the home's owner. We were pleasantly surprised, in the Lincoln home, to find that many of the items did actually belong to the Lincoln family.

On the game table above, you'll see a "toy" (the actual one!) that Abe bought for his boys. It's an old-time equivalent of a View-Master that many of us will remember from our childhood. This was quite an expensive purchase for the day, but Abe valued his boys' play time and education; and this toy checked both boxes.

This was Abe's writing desk

And Abe's shaving mirror

By the way, the wallpaper in the above two photos are an exact replica of the pattern used by the Lincolns.

This was the stove that Mary Lincoln used. Before the purchase of this stove, she was cooking over an open fire. As Abe progressed in his career, the family hosted dinners for up to 300 guests. Mrs. Lincoln, along with a paid servant girl, cooked meals for those guests on this very stove. 

Okay, I probably should stop whining about missing my kitchen back home in Livermore.

We toured the Old State Capitol in Springfield. The exterior was undergoing renovation, but the interior was super interesting.

This structure is a reconstruction of Illinois' 5th State House. Having been altered many times throughout the years, in the 1960's, the State of Illinois built a 6th and much larger State Capitol building. The Old State Capitol was then completely dismantled, stone by stone, and rebuilt to resemble the appearance of the building in 1860, when Lincoln last saw the capitol prior to his departure to Washington D.C.

From Wikipedia:

It was in this building that Lincoln served his final term as a state lawmaker in 1840-41. As a lawyer, he pleaded cases before the state supreme court here from 1841-1860. In the Illinois House chamber, Lincoln made his "House Divided" speech in June 1858, announcing his candidacy for the U.S. Senate. It was to the same chamber, in May 1865, that his body was returned to lie in state, arriving from Washington, D.C., prior to final burial in Springfield's Oak Ridge Cemetery.

During the Civil War years, the Springfield Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society used the capitol building as a base of operations. Organized in August 1861, their purpose was to "gather food, clothing and other supplies to aid Illinois soldiers, most especially the sick and the wounded". Prior to this, women were not even allowed in the capitol building. 

We've come a long way baby!

Take a look at this wooden chain that's currently hanging in the governor's reception room in the Old State Capitol. Our tour guide said that the history on the chain is unknown, but what's fascinating is that the chain was carved from one piece of wood, without seams or glue. Think about it . . . now that's skill!

The Illinois House of Representatives chamber, where Lincoln's body lay for 24 hours.

Next order of the day was a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, which was really well done. As with any museum, there was a lot of information to read, but there were also many visuals to hold everyone's interest. Beginning with Lincoln's childhood, and ending with his body lying in state, the life-size scenes were so engaging and realistic.

A young Lincoln reads by the fire in his childhood home: a one-room cabin in Kentucky

Abe Lincoln courts Mary Todd

The October 1858 Senatorial debate between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln encouraged his young sons to play freely. The scene depicted here shows just how much freedom the boys were allowed. You don't see it in the photo, but the mess included ink spilled and splattered on the walls. It's hard for me to imagine that this type of behavior didn't elicit a rebuke now and then from Mary Lincoln for all of the "boys", Abe included.

The Lincoln family, plus one?

Generals McClellan and Grant stand on the White House veranda

The Gettysburg Address

In Ford's Theatre

Museum visitors can read Lincoln's last words exchanged with his wife, spoken moments before he was shot.

Mary held his hand, and at a few minutes before ten hugged him and asked, "What will Miss Harris think of my hanging on to you so?" Lincoln turned to her with a tender reply, "She won't think anything about it."

Those were the last words Mary would hear from her husband. Moments later, at approximately 10:15pm, John Wilkes Booth gained entrance to the presidential box, and placing a derringer pistol behind the president's left ear, shot him at point-blank range.

Lying in state

From the museum's website:

An immersive exhibit, this is a full scale recreation of the Representatives Hall in Springfield's Old State Capitol. Based on period photographs, historical etchings, and a reporter's first-hand descriptions, sculptors and artists have set this Hall back in time to the exact moment when Lincoln lay in state, complete with all the lavish, elaborate, and, by today's standards, sometimes eccentric decorations. Having walked through Lincoln's life, visitors will now file past his closed casket as though they too are paying their last respects.

And finally, we visited the Lincoln Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery, also in Springfield. Notice Abe's shiny nose? Apparently it's a "thing" for visitors to rub his nose for luck. Lincoln had a good sense of humor, so I bet he'd get a chuckle out of it if he were watching.

Visitors are welcome to go inside the mausoleum. Abraham, Mary and three of their four sons were laid to rest here. Robert Todd Lincoln is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

We said "Goodbye" to Springfield with a dinner at Obed & Isaac's Microbrewery & Eatery.