audio-visual theater presentation, “Ghosts of the Library,” telling Lincoln’s story with stunning hologram-like spirits. Just a few blocks from the Presidential Library and Museum, I walk the same streets as Lincoln did outside his brown toned, two-story house within the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, a pedestrian area with 14 historic dwellings within several blocks. The Lincoln family lived there from 1844 until 1861. “This is pretty close to what the house looked like when he was moving to Washington,” explains Interpretive Park Guide Linsey Hughes. The interior was recreated according to an 1861 newspaper illustration and includes around 50 original pieces of furniture and other objects, and similarly matched carpet and wallpaper. The parlor has Lincoln’s original chairs with woven horsehair upholstery and footrests. “This is where he was approached by delegates from Chicago in May 1860, officially to ask if he would like the chance to run for president,” explains Hughes. Another highlight is an original “stereoscope,” a wooden box with eyeholes, making photos appear 3D. “That was Lincoln’s high-tech, state- of-the-art home entertainment system,” jokes Hughes, also noting the stairwell has the original wooden handrail. “It’s what Lincoln would use when he’s going up the stairs, so we like to say it’s the closest you can get to shake his hand nowadays.” His original corner desk sits upstairs in Lincoln’s bedroom. “We think it’s probably
where he wrote the House Divided Speech he gave here in Springfield,” continues Hughes, “and likely where he prepared for the debates with Douglas.” The Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery is where the President is buried along with his wife and three of their four sons. A grandiose granite monument topped with an obelisk and statues houses the burial vault, reached through passageways lined with Lincoln sculptures, one of them a small bronze replica of the sitting President within Washington’s Lincoln Memorial. Because of the tomb, Oak Ridge is the nation’s second-most-visited cemetery after Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. A half-hour drive from Springfield leads to Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, an open- air museum representing the rural 1830s village where Lincoln lived in his 20s. Reconstructed log cabins include a tavern, general store, schoolhouse, carpenter shop, and more. While in New Salem, Lincoln served as a captain in
The Lincoln Tomb Monument in Oakridge Cemetery is the second most visited cemetery, second to Arlington National Cemetery.
It’s fun to explore Lincoln’s Home and see how they lived.
LINCOLN’S ILLINOIS
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2023 | 24
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker