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19. Springfield

Lincoln’s Springfield, Illinois Home

By: Becky Moran, Washington, IL; Lincoln Tri-State Heritage Summer Institute, June, 2009

Abe Lincoln owned only one home in his lifetime. It is still standing at the corner of Eighth Street and Jefferson Street in Springfield and is the only National Park in the State of Illinois. Here the Lincoln’s welcomed their three youngest sons. Originally, the home was only one and a half stories tall, but the Lincoln’s renovated to make it a full two stories. They lived in the home from the spring of 1844 until February 11, 1861, when they left for Washington, D.C., so that Mr. Lincoln could be inaugurated as the 16th President of the United States. Visitors to the home can see where Abe and Mary spent family time, the upstairs bedrooms, the kitchen area where Mary cooked the family meals, and the parlor. It was in the parlor where Mr. Lincoln was told of his election to the presidency in the early morning hours of November 7, 1860. Upon hearing this news, he went upstairs, woke Mary, and said, “Mary, we’re elected.” The handrail that is along the stairs to the bedrooms is original to the house: so, when you use the handrail as you climb the stairs, remember that Abe did the same! Many other houses are still standing in the neighborhood which has been restored to represent the time period that the Lincoln’s were residents.

A visit to Springfield accompanied by walking the streets as Mr. Lincoln would have done, reinforces the spatial relationships and patterns of homes, businesses, government, and more in the 19th Century. The city of Springfield has done a marvelous job of maintaining the past while planning for the present and preparing for the future, in regards to the many Lincoln-related sites throughout the downtown area. Pretending that you are Mr. or Mrs. Lincoln, walk from their home site to his law offices. Who would you have encountered then? Who do you encounter now? What types of transportation would have been present? Were the Lincoln’s “well to do”, relative to their immediate neighbors, relative to their rural neighbors? Think about patterns and relationships and change in place over time while visiting Springfield.

For additional details about planning a visit to Springfield, visit the Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at http://visit-springfieldillinois.com/Lincoln/bicentennial.asp.

The Visitor Center for Springfield, Illinois provides excellent background information about Abraham Lincoln, maps, site details, and a nice gift shop.	Walking to the Abraham and Mary Lincoln home from the Visitor Center.	The two-block square area surrounding the Springfield Lincoln home has been declared a National Historic Site. Most of the structures are held by the National Park Service and are slowly undergoing renovation.	The streets and placques throughout the Springfield Lincoln neighborhood provide additional hands-on artifacts and information about the Lincoln’s neighbors and about the area’s space and time.
		Within the Lincoln home, many artifacts depict the 19th Century and the items that would have been found in the Lincoln home.	Abraham Lincoln sat in this chair.
A rendition of the Lincoln sitting room that depicts many accurate replications and pieces.	A lovely bedroom that houses many accurate replications.	A cooking stove in the current Lincoln home. In the 19th Century home, the kitchen may have been detached.	A writing desk that would have used by Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln.
The most important room in a home!!	What do you think these are?

Walking from the Lincoln Museum toward the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices past the Lincoln Library (on the left).	Still walking toward the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices past the old Courthouse. The Law Offices are to the left of the Courthouse in this photo.	A sculpture of Lincoln as a statesman.	Looking at the old Courthouse from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices.
The Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices remain in an entire block of period maintained facades. The individual shops are still functioning, modern businesses. The block does not allow automotive traffic and displays a couple sculptures: one of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln and one of a newpaper delivery boy.		Walking from the Lincoln Museum toward the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices past the Lincoln Library (on the left). Still walking toward the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices past the old Courthouse. The Law Offices are to the left of the Courthouse in this photo. A sculpture of Lincoln as a statesman. Looking at the old Courthouse from the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices. The Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices remain in an entire block of period maintained facades. The individual shops are still functioning, modern businesses. The block does not allow automotive traffic and displays a couple sculptures: one of Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln and one of a newpaper delivery boy. The old railroad depot, where Mr. Lincoln traveled from Springfield to Washington, D.C. to begin his life as the 16th President of the United States.A very unusual sculpture on the grounds of the railroad depot./>	The old railroad depot, where Mr. Lincoln traveled from Springfield to Washington, D.C. to begin his life as the 16th President of the United States.	A very unusual sculpture on the grounds of the railroad depot.

Dedicated to the life and legacy of our 16th president, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum brings together the world’s largest collection of documentary material related to the life of Lincoln.

View over 30 outdoor interpretive exhibits placed throughout the historic downtown area to experience Springfield, Illinois as Abraham Lincoln knew it. http://visit-springfieldillinois.com/Visitor/Tours.asp is the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau web site that provides all of the information you need to plan a trip to Springfield.

Also, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency provides several 360 degree virtual tours of Lincoln-related historic sitesthroughout Springfield: Depot, Home, Tomb, New Salem State Historic Park, Old State Capitol, Law Offices, and the Presidential Library and Museum.

The National Park Service provides a web site about the Lincoln Home National Historic Site with information, images, and resource connections.

Maintained by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices present a well-maintained structure with an exhibits gallery, theatre, and rooms depicting federal court offices and lawyer offices and a post office.

The official web site of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum offers student/educator/family programming, resource connections, research and visit planning, and the Museum Shop.

When Lincoln left Springfield to begin his life in Washington, D.C., he departed by train. Visit the Lincoln Depot Historic Site to gain a better perspective of the city of Springfield during the 19th Century.

A maintained Lincoln Family Pew in the First Presbyterian Church is available for viewing, along with a series of stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany, by knowledgable docents.

Like many of us today, the Lincoln’s had a mortgage for their Springfield home. The original Lincoln Account Ledger is available for viewing at the Chase Bank during regular hours.