Springfield Illinois Magazine Cover

Our post-Europe decompression plans included an overnight trip to Springfield for a visit to Lincoln's home, the Presidential Museum, his tomb and then to New Salem, his home as a young adult. Several images were featured on these pages recently, and we have just completed the TRAVELING Magazine cover for that trip.

My favorite image of Lincoln this trip was inside the Presidential Museum and outside the tour of Lincoln's young life. The handsome, pensive young man with the crystal eyes shows all the promise of youth and all the innocence of the man who knows not where he is headed with his life. My favorite location this trip was the home Mr. and Mrs. Lincoln occupied during the years just prior to moving into the White House.

Here we see the young Mr. Lincoln daydreaming while sitting atop his future home, with a book in hand and a name plaque from his first business, a General Store in New Salem. Hope you enjoy the magazine!

Next post will be a visit to one of the two equestrian activities that brightened up a pair of Sundays here in mid-October.

Lincoln-Herndon Law Office

The Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, where the future President worked on cases, told stories, and wrote his First Inaugural Address, is right across the street from the Old State Capitol in downtown Springfield.

Seeing the desk at which he apparently wrote that speech is a real highlight of a visit.

A trip to Lincoln's last resting place in the next post.

Colorful Rooms

The rooms in President Lincoln's home are quite colorful as we see in these two shots from the family's parlor. Both shots show the bright color of the carpet on the floor, one of the shots in a closeup. The other photos shows a table with a deep red tablecloth and holding one of the family's favorite pastimes: photographs. But these were not just early attempts at photography, these were stereographs. The large wooden box would hold the stereo photos, much like the View-Master photos I had as a child. Since our eyes generate full 3D sight by using the slightly different views of our two eyes, the stereographs show slightly separated views that can be combined in a viewer to see a quite effective 3D view.

Following the relaxed and interesting visit to the Lincoln home, we walked back downtown to another of the future President's favorite places: his law office. Some shots from there in the next post.

Kitchen & Bedroom

Interesting items on display in the various rooms of the Lincoln residence in Springfield are today's focus. The kitchen naturally centers around the stove mentioned in the previous post, an item that has been here for a century and a half. Even on a bright summer day it is easy to see the warmth and aroma that would have surrounded the stove and the kitchen all those years ago.

In another room, we see colorful carpeting in a bedroom. And those of us with indoor plumbing might not understand the pottery bowl under the bed, as we can get up and step to the bathroom when the need occurs. At a time when the facility was an outhouse, sleepers were provided with a handy alternative.

More items from the Lincoln house in the next post.

Home of the President

Nestled in a National Park today, the last home owned by Abraham Lincoln is situated into a small community of period buildings. The house has been tended and refurbished in a major effort that must have hundreds of people involved. When we last visited the site about 18 years ago, the house was in good condition, filled with furniture of the time, but not the furniture owned by the Lincolns. I recall our tour guide telling us that only the cast iron kitchen stove was from the family as it was too heavy to move.

Today the house is in excellent condition, everything well-preserved and easy to see. And many of the rooms feature actual Lincoln furniture and possessions. Photography is encouraged, and we will look into some rooms in the next post. And a unique setup kitty-corner across the street, shows the famous vista of the house as seen through a Civil War-era camera. A nice semi-historical touch.

Lincoln Images

The Lincoln Presidential Museum is bright, airy and beautiful, filled with interesting facts and many life size dioramas of the statesman who is often considered the best President in the history of the Republic. Images of family members, scenes from campaigns and wartime, and speculative looks at the life the famed President when he was miles away and years earlier than the fame that was to come.

Perhaps my favorite image from the entire museum is outside a cabin mockup featuring scenes from Lincoln growing up. As you see, a pensive young man, book in hand, seated on a stump. A fine image and a great experience.

Next post will visit the last home the President owned, his home before he left for the White House.

Visit to Springfield

Following the end of the Europe trip, we arrived home exhausted. A week later, though, we were ready to roll again, taking a trip to Springfield, Illinois, the adult home of Abraham Lincoln. The relatively new Lincoln Presidential Museum, the Lincoln family home before his election, his law offices, and New Salem, his home when he was a young man are all open for interested students of all ages.

Once we found the underground parking garage we came up right across from the old state capitol building, where Lincoln often spoke and worked. Later, at New Salem, we saw a leaf that looked to me a lot like a bright green heart, perhaps a St. Patrick's Day decoration. We will visit some Springfield highlights in the next several posts, including some of the buildings at New Salem.