Land of Lincoln

A six hour drive gets us to Springfield IL. Our target time of departure was 7 AM, and we managed to pull out at 7:18.  Pretty good for a couple of retirees.  Breakfast in Madison at Perkins, home of the Paula-approved Mediterranean omelet, and the place is hopping.   July 4 and people are traveling home for the most part, and Perkins is close to the interstate, and reliable.  Then I-90 and 39 down past Rockford and Bloomington, arriving at Springfield around 2 PM.  Gives us three hours to see Lincoln’s home and the Presidential Museum.

Lincoln and Mary lived here for 17 years as his law and political prowess grew, until he went to Washington only to come back home in a box. The home includes many original pieces and placement of furniture and  replicas of period decorations confirmed by photos and drawing of the time.  Rocking chairs, desks, bureaus and other items are interspersed with other non-original period pieces.  Lincoln’s 9′ bed itself was lost in the Chicago Fire of 1871, having been sold to the renters of the Lincoln house and subsequently moved to Chicago with the family.

To the right is a balcony where Willy and Tad (10 and 7 years old at the time) would stand on and campaign for their father’s presidential run by hollering at passers by.

The Visitors Center includes this interactive map showing Springfield of the period, with little led lights that show the location of the home, the route of the funeral cortege in Springfield, and other significant locations.

We were pleasantly surprised to encounter no crowds. In downtown Springfield you could shoot a Parrott Rifle down the street.  The parking lot at the Lincoln home was only about 1/3 full.   Tours of the Lincoln house are 20-25 minutes guided by a Park Service ranger.  The tours are spaced five minutes apart beginning at some benches on the avenue.  We secured a private tour due to the paucity of visitors, allowing us to linger in some rooms that the ranger said they normally breeze through.

Mary’s etagere, Lincolns stereopticon ($25 when the house cost $1,500), Mary’s commode, and the family’s formal parlors.  The last is the private parlor where Lincoln received the news of his party’s nomination.  He said he’d think about it, and accepted three days later.  The children were not allowed in the formal parlors.

Mary’s Kitchen is equal in square footage to the cabin that Lincoln was born in. She had hired help and went through 16 hired girls in 17 years, but she ruled herown kitchen.