A log cabin in Lincoln’s New Salem recreated village.
The Bressmer Baker House in Springfield.
ALTON’S CIVIL WAR TRAIL Following Lincoln’s footsteps in hilly Alton, Illinois, alongside the sprawling Mississippi River, leads to several historic dwellings and Civil War-era landmarks. I stand next to statues of a pensive Lincoln and a gesturing Stephan A. Douglas on the spot where the two politicians held the final of their seven 1858 debates for U.S. Senate. A plaque on the redbrick plaza reads that 6,000 spectators crammed the area to hear the great orators. Although Douglas won the election, the debates helped catapult Lincoln to national fame and to be elected president in 1860. As a traveling lawyer, Lincoln met with clients at the Ryder Building, a two-story stand-alone storefront that’s now a dessert café at 31 East Broadway, where he also gave a speech in 1840 praising Whig candidate and future president William Henry Harrison. While preparing for his debate, Lincoln set up his campaign headquarters at the colonial-style Franklin House at 208 State Street, what was then a hotel.
The Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield.
the Black Hawk War, became a lawyer and was elected to the Illinois State Legislature.
“We believe this is the turning point in his life,” says historic site interpreter Jane Carrington. “He did all kinds of odd jobs to earn his keep. He’s borrowing books and educating himself. By the time he leaves here in April 1837, he’s a legislator and a lawyer and on his way to Springfield to go into practice.” Other Springfield sites worth a look include the Old State Capitol where Lincoln served as a state legislator and delivered his famous House Divided speech; the Lincoln Depot where he departed by train as President-Elect; and the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site, now housing the Springfield Visitors Center. The Illinois State Military Museum includes an exhibit of Lincoln in the Black Hawk War. And the distinctive Bressmer-Baker House, a Lincoln- era Queen Ann-style Victorian manor, is a National Historic Landmark from 1853 with the only copper-topped turret in Springfield. Now a B&B, its parlors and bedrooms decorated with patterned wallpaper and antique furniture offer guests a feel for luxurious 19th-century living.
Statues of Lincoln and Douglas at the site of their 7th Debate.
LINCOLN’S ILLINOIS
COAST TO COAST MAGAZINE FALL 2023 | 25
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker