A Visit to the Lincoln Home!

On our way down south to spend fall break with our children and grandchildren, we made a couple of pit stops on the way.  Our first stop was the La Crosse River Marsh, our second stop was Galena, Illinois, and our last stop was the Land of Lincoln:  Springfield Illinois!

I've had to drive through Illinois a lot in my life and I always saw the signs about the Lincoln Historic Sites, but I never had the time to stop.  Then I was listening to a pod cast one day and the podcaster was sharing about his recent trip to Springfield and how impressed he was with all the sites.  So, my husband and I finally decided it was time to stop and see it for ourselves.  We only spent one day in Springfield, and probably could have easily spent two, but we did a lot in our one day.  Because we did so much, I will be splitting up this visit to Springfield into two or three posts.  For this week's post, I will share all about our visit to the National Park Historic Site:  The Lincoln Home.

I know it won't look like it by the pictures, but the National Historic Site is located right in downtown Springfield, Illinois.  The park is free, but you do have to pay for parking unless you're lucky enough to find free parking on the street.  You do need tickets to see the Lincoln Home, but everything else is a self-guided walk.  Tickets are unavailable on-line.  You must pick them up at the visitor center and they are given out on a first come-first serve basis.  Everyone advises to get there right when the Visitor Center opens so you can get your FREE tickets, because they do disappear fast during the busy tourist season.  

The park has a visitor center where you can see a movie which tells you all about Lincoln's life in Springfield.  The rest of the park contains Lincoln's original home in Springfield and many other older homes of people who lived in the town of Springfield at the time of Lincoln.  The map below shows the neighborhood which is considered a National Park Historic Site.  The roads are open for pedestrian traffic only.

I'm not going to go into all the history because you can just click on the photos to enlarge them and read them yourself.

This is the Lincoln Home from a corner aisle, and when I was there I read that it was the most photographed angle of the house.  They even had a selfie station set up so you could take a photo of yourself in front of the house.

The tour is a guided tour.  A park ranger takes you through the house room by room and explains the purpose of the room, points out certain items in the room, and shares stories about the personal lives of the Lincolns.

The house was modest and originally it was much smaller than the version we toured.  When the Lincoln's first purchased the home it was quite a bit smaller and they added on to the house later.

The first two photos show the front parlor.

Many items in the home were owned by the Lincolns, but not everything.  Everything however is true to the time period.

Dining Room

The next two photos show the living room, where the family would gather.

The front stair case to the upstair bedrooms.  There is also a back staircase to the kitchen.

Lincoln's Bedroom

Mary Lincoln's bedroom

The Lincoln's had four boys, and only one of the boys lived into adulthood.  😢 This could have been a guest room or one of the boy's room or all of the boy's room.

Mary did have servant help, but we learned that most of them didn't last long.  The boys apparently were very mischievous.  This could have been a servant's room or one of the boys rooms.

The kitchen.  Apparently Mary loved her stove so much she wanted to take it to Washington D.C with her, but she did not.

The back of the Lincoln home.

The outhouse, and the only reason I have it pictured is because there were three potties inside (second photo)! 😂

A living example of what Mary's vegetable garden might have looked like.  Today the produce from the garden is donated to a food pantry.

The rest of the photos will show the neighborhood.  All but three homes are closed to the public.  The three that are open are like museums with displays to read.

I found this inside one of the homes/museums.  The NPS made it seem like Abraham and Mary had quite the love story, then later that afternoon we got a different picture of their relationship from the Lincoln Presidential Museum.  Who knows what to believe?  I guess the romantic in me will accept the NPS version.😍

Some of the homes, like the one below had signs explaining who lived in the home and their importance in the Springfield community.

The neighborhood was absolutely charming with its mature tree lined streets and lanterns.  The roads  paved in brick and the sidewalks made of wood made you feel you stepped back in time.  

 This is the Charles Arnold House which is open to the public.  I didn't take any interior photos of these open homes because they were stripped bare inside and just had photos and displays like a museum.

All the homes had little signs by the doors so you could identify them on your map.

The home below is an office of Illinois State Senator Dick Durbin.

The Allen Miller House.

The home of one of Mary Lincoln's close circle of friends.

This house was also open to the public and was a modern civil rights museum.

The Lincoln Home Historic Site focus's on Lincoln's life in Springfield.  To learn more about the life of Lincoln, you must visit his Presidential Museum, which is also in Springfield.

 Sorry I forgot to get any photos of the visitor's center.  There really wasn't much inside other than a theater for the movie and a gift shop.

We really enjoyed touring Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield and learning all about his personal life there, but the highlight of our trip to Springfield was the Presidential Museum which I will share all about next time!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!