October 11, 2022 @ 11:35 CST
Site Visit #61
Abraham Lincoln has four units of the National Park Service dedicated specifically to him: his birthplace in Kentucky, his boyhood home in Indiana, and his adult home in Springfield, Missouri. He left this home in 1861 to assume the Presidency, never to return. Today I was visiting Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield.
The visitor center is located one block west of the actual home. It was my first stop as a free ticket is required for the house tour. I actually arrived late in the morning, having driven from Des Moines. Fortunately, plenty of tickets remained.
The visitor center itself has a few displays and the requisite gift shop, plus two theaters. In one, an excellent video follows Lincoln’s life in Springfield, arriving almost penniless and building both a successful law practice and a political career. He joined the fledgling anti-slavery Republican Party soon after it was founded and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. By choice, he only served one term.
The second theater was used as the gathering point and start of the house tour.
Most school children learn of the famous debates Lincoln had with Stephen Douglas, a member of the pro-slavery Democratic Party and the incumbent Senator running for re-election in 1858. Lincoln’s arguments against slavery elevated him onto the national political stage. His message was very popular with the people of Illinois (he spoke of more than just slavery), but at that time, Senators were chosen by state legislatures, not by popular vote, and Lincoln lost his bid for the Senate.
Two years later found him debating Douglas again, this time for President. By this time, the country was careening toward a Civil War that seemed unavoidable. Lincoln was not even on the ballot in several southern states, but Douglas was only one of three opposing candidates, splitting the electoral votes from southern and border states.
The park service land encompasses an area approximately one block in each direction from the Lincoln home. A few other buildings are open to the public with other houses labeled with displays explaining their history. The roads within the park are gravel with wood sidewalks to add a bit of time-period realism to the visit.
The Lincoln home itself was nice but not elaborate. When Lincoln originally purchased the house, it was a small one-story building. With a growing family, he expanded the house with a second floor and an addition to the back. Many of the furnishings are from the period but not originally from the house, though a few were actual pieces from Lincoln’s time in the house.
I made an interesting discovery while reviewing information for this entry. Go to https://maps.google.com, search for “Lincoln home Springfield”, then zoom in to the intersection of S 8th Street and E Jackson St (should be where the red marker is pointing). The actual Lincoln home is the gray box on the northeast corner (I’m not sure why it is not highlighted). Now click and hold on the little orange man in the lower right corner. This will highlight with blue lines all “street view” locations. You will see blue lines inside the house. Drag the little orange man onto one of the blue lines and you can take a virtual tour of some of the house’s interior. Pretty cool.
As interesting as it was to walk around a neighborhood restored to look as it did when Lincoln walked these streets, it was the historical background of his life that I found fascinating. Most basic history classes gloss over his time in Springfield, but so many of his future beliefs were born here. I had never realized the depth of his political involvement from very early in his career.
This was park visit number 61, and the 61st time I learned at least something that I had not known before. Only 362 more learning experiences ahead!
Steve
