The Lincoln Tomb and Historic Springfield

This past fall my husband and I spent one day in Springfield, Illinois learning all about one of our nations greatest presidents:  Abraham Lincoln.  While Abraham Lincoln has many ties to other states in our country, it was Springfield, Illinois where he married, raised his family, began his law practice, and ran for the President of the United States.  There is so much to see and do in Springfield, one day was not enough to cover it all.  I have previously covered the Lincoln Home and the Lincoln Presidential Museum, today's post is all about the Lincoln Tomb and Historic Springfield.

Abraham Lincoln is buried Oak Ridge Cemetery along with his wife and three sons.  His oldest son is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  We were disappointed that the monument was under renovation when we were there (the story of our lives) so we couldn't get any great photos because scaffolding was in the way.  But, we understand the importance of preserving these national treasures.

The monument and tomb feature many important architectural symbols on the exterior.  The obelisk is an ancient Egyptian symbol for leadership.  A statue of Lincoln holding The Emancipation Proclamation in his hand stands at the base of the obelisk.  The monument also includes four bronze statues acknowledging the service of soldiers during the Civil War:  Infantry, Artillery, Cavalry, and Navy.  At the final base of the upper deck is a chain of unbroken links that lists the initials of each state in the Union.

There is a huge bust of Lincoln's head outside his tomb.  The finish on the nose has been rubbed off by visitors (which is permitted, our tour guide instructed us to rub his nose) because legend has it that rubbing his nose brings good luck.

To our surprise, you couldn't enter the tomb without a guide.  The guide begins at the bust, tells you to rub Lincoln's nose, then offers to take your photo before taking you inside the tomb.

The interior of the monument features several bronze statues of Abraham Lincoln that show guests different stages and roles of his professional life.  It is constructed of marble and contains a rotunda, a burial room, and connecting corridors. 

There are four bronze tablets on the walls engraved with Lincoln's Farewell Address, the Gettysburg Address, a portion of the Second Inaugural Address (pictured below), and a biographical sketch.

The tombs of Lincoln's wife and three of his sons are located across from Lincoln's tomb.

The burial room features black and white marble and a ceiling of gold leaf.  The memorial monument is a seven ton reddish marble inscribed with Lincoln's name, and the years he lived.  Lincoln's body is buried about ten feet below and thirty inches behind the monument. Nine flags are arranged in a semi circle around the monument.  Seven of the flags commemorate the homes of Lincoln and his ancestors. The eight and nine flags are U.S. flag and the Presidential flag. 

In between visiting the Lincoln Home and the Lincoln Presidential Museum we had to grab lunch.  There is a restaurant inside the museum, but we preferred grabbing a bite in the historic downtown.  On our way to lunch, we saw the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices

It is such a cool, vintage building.  I love how they left the "dry goods" advertising on the building.

The hustling and bustling historic Springfield is loaded with nice restaurants and shops.

I just loved the architecture of the historic district.

This is the old capitol building where Lincoln tried several hundred cases in and gave one of his famous speeches "A house divided against itself cannot stand." It is now a state Historic Site.   I was so bummed that it was "closed indefinitely" for repairs.  Springfield does have a new capitol building which is absolutely gorgeous and is open for free tours, but unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn't visit it. 

The Old State Capitol was built in 1837-1840 and served as the State House from 1840-1876, when it was replaced by the current State Capitol.

Pictured below is the Springfield Union Station.  It is a former train station which is now operated by the Presidential Museum and Library.  It opened in 1898 and operated until 1971.  It is registered on the National Register of Historic Places.   The New Clock Tower was constructed in 2006 to replicate the tower removed in 1946.

I hope you enjoyed my visit to the Land of Lincoln.  Next week is Thanksgiving week, so I'll be taking that week off and I will continue with my fall vacation with a meet up with my kids and grandkids in Turkey Run State Park, Indiana!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

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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

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