Abraham Lincoln in Springfield

Lincoln in Springfield

The home Abe and Mary shared in Springfield was the only home they'd owned, and they lived in it from 1844 until they went to Washington in 1861.  Springfield is also where both Lincolns and 3 of their 4 children are buried.

The House

what it probably looked like in 1844

what it looks like today

When they originally bought the house (left), it had only 1 story and likely looked almost exactly like the brown house (right) catty-cornered to them looks like.  Except the Lincoln house was white, with green shutters.

As they started to add children to the family, they added on to the house to make more room.  First a raised roof and partial upstairs rooms, then a full second story.  At that time, they painted the house the yellow color it is today.

what the back looks like today

an 1865 stereoscope view of the back

Neither Abe nor Mary was much for gardening and, as you can tell from the photo at right, the back yard was neglected, used primarily as a path to the outhouse.

Subsequent renters made some improvements, but it wasn't until the National Park Service took over that it was made presentable.  But there's always been an apple tree in that area on the left, as there is now.

The Lincoln family never came back to live in the house after the assassination.  The only surviving child, their first son Robert, rented it out for some years until he discovered that the tenant wasn't maintaining the house, was charging people to come in and see it, and even was selling some of the family possessions as souvenirs.  Robert ousted him and, in 1887, deeded the property to the State of Illinois for $1, under the conditions that the house be maintained and that no admission ever be charged to visitors.  And a visit today is still free.

Illinois owned the home until 1972 when Pres. Nixon visited and proposed making it a national historic site, as it is today.  In fact, an entire 4-block area has been preserved so that if Lincoln were to walk down those streets today, he'd still recognize the buildings.

When the family moved to Washington, they of course took some of their belongings with them and gave others away.  But much of their furniture was either left in the house or was taken by friends, so many original items are now back in their accustomed places.

their sitting room, as seen in the 1861 photograph

the Lincolns' sterescope

The Park Service knows a great deal about the house because of national curiosity when Lincoln ran for president.  The Democrats were calling him the Railsplitter, essentially pegging him as a hick who knew nothing about running the country.  The Republicans wanted to show that this poor boy had made good, and published photographs of what was a fairly luxurious house for the time.  The whatnot shelves at the right of the photo belonged to Mary, as did the rocker at the left of the photo.  That stove installed in the fireplace was, to my mind, a quite elaborate display of ironwork; that's a recreation of the original.

This was their sitting room; the formal parlor was across the hall and seemed similar to me so I didn't photograph it.  Out of sight on the right of that photograph above was the room Lincoln used for a study (see below), what had originally been his and Mary's bedroom until the upstairs addition was built.

Lincoln's bookcase

Lincoln's study, per 1861 photo

The bookcase at right was Lincoln's own, and I was sorry we weren't allowed to get any closer - you can see the railing we had to stay behind.

Mary's taste obviously ran to the elaborate, as shown by the carpet which was replicated to match the photograph.

Lincoln's bed

his dresser

I took 4 photos of Lincoln’s bedroom.  As I understand it, these items were all his.  The bed looks much too small to accommodate his height – 6’ 4” - but it’s actually 6’ 11” long.  The guide thought it looked shorter because the room’s pretty small, but I thought it was the wallpaper that made it look shorter.

his desk

his armoire

That’s the identical pattern of wallpaper that Mary selected for their bedrooms; the Park Service knows this because, when they were renovating the house, they found a large swatch of the wallpaper sandwiched between 2 boards, apparently during a much earlier remodeling project.  The boards had protected it from the light, so the colors looked just as you see them on the walls.  The NPS found the company that made that pattern and got them to make enough for them to use in the house.  The guide thinks Lincoln must have hated it, because he hadn’t found one man in any of his tour groups that liked it, but Lincoln himself said he liked it very much (which the guide thinks was his way of keeping peace with his wife).  Oh well.  I thought it was too busy for such a small room, but Mary didn’t ask my opinion.

Mary's stove

their kitchen

Mary cooked in the fireplace for many years, particularly when the house was only 1 story high.  Even when they added a kitchen on to the back of the house when they went up a 2nd story, she still cooked in a fireplace because that’s what people did.  Finally, Abe happened to see this huge stove (at right) for sale in town and bought it for Mary.  It weighs 300 pounds.  Mary loved it and seriously considered taking it with them when they moved to Washington (all 300 pounds of it, from Springfield over the mountains to Washington DC) but Abe convinced her that there would be other people in the White House who would do the cooking and they’d already have whatever implements they needed.  Which is why Mary’s original stove is still standing in the kitchen.

Lincoln’s character

Abe loved animals; he was very attached to Old Bob, the horse he rode on circuit.  The family had a dog, Fido, who they decided to leave with a neighbor when they went to Washington.  But Lincoln was especially known for picking up stray cats, and there were always several around the house.

He also loved children, especially his own, who he indulged quite a bit.  But he hadn’t had much of a childhood, because the family needed him to go to work when he was still young.  He was really only able to get an education because of the efforts of his stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln.  As a result, he allowed his own children to play and make noise and generally have a good time (as long as they studied their lessons).  Visitors were often scandalized by the boys’ behavior, but considering 3 of the 4 died young, it seems just as well that their time was happy for as long as possible.

Lincoln also befriended the neighborhood children.  The neighbors were a mix of skin colors and income levels and social position, and Lincoln was especially concerned that the poorer children should get some of the treats his sons got.  So when the circus came to town, for instance, he’d gather up a batch of boys and take them all with his sons, paying the entrance fee for the ones who couldn’t afford it.  A nice man.

Lincoln’s family

Mary came to Springfield to stay with her older married sister Elizabeth.  To help Mary find an eligible husband, Elizabeth held a dance and invited all the eligible bachelors in Springfield.  Her invitation included all the attorneys, which is how Lincoln got invited.  Elizabeth considered Lincoln far beneath her sister and wouldn’t otherwise have given him the time of day; in fact, she tried to discourage Mary from even dancing with him.

The two sisters were sitting on a couch when Lincoln saw them and was quite taken with Mary.  She was 5’ 2” and pretty and vivacious.  The gangling Lincoln went up to her and said he “wanted to dance with her in the worst way.”  Mary accepted, despite Elizabeth’s disapproval, but between their height difference and Lincoln not being a very good dancer, the dance wasn’t a success.  When he returned Mary to her sister, Elizabeth asked her what she thought of him, expecting a firm thumb’s-down.  But Mary said she could tell he was an honest man, because after all he’d said he wanted to dance with her “in the worst way.”

Oddly, Mary had said from when she was a child that she wanted to marry the president.  When they married, nothing looked further from reality than Lincoln becoming president, though we know how that turned out.  I feel sure her childhood dream of being a president's wife hadn't included assassination, showing that when you set your mind on achieving something, be sure you really want it.

Lincoln’s Tomb

Lincoln's tomb

explaining the present structure

After Lincoln was assassinated, his friends formed an association to raise funds to build a tomb.  The site was chosen by the Lincoln family.  In 1868 funds had been raised and a design competition was held.  In 1874, President Grant dedicated the tomb.  In 1895, the last surviving member of the association deeded the tomb to the State of Illinois.  The renovations began in 1899, as you see in the photo at right above.

closeup of statues

explains the statuary

As you can see above, the balcony curves out below Lincoln's statue and at the center of the curve is the plaque below.

The Gettysburg Address

Just below the plaque is the entrance to the tomb where the Lincoln family is buried.  I didn't go in so can't tell you any more than is in the renovation sign above.

The bust of Lincoln (right) has an odd myth connected to it: rubbing his nose brings good luck, which explains the reason for its different appearance.  I can't imagine where that came from, and I didn't do that either, but I saw others who did.

There are several other Lincoln-related locations around town - after all, he spent 20 years here.  But these were the only two I visited.