Lincoln's New Salem facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
New Salem
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
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Welcome center, New Salem State Historic Site
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 New Salem
Location in Illinois
New Salem
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Illinois |
| County | Menard |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a special place in Menard County, Illinois. It's a rebuilt version of the old village of New Salem. This is where Abraham Lincoln lived when he was a young man, from 1831 to 1837.
During his time here, the future U.S. President worked many jobs. He was a boatman, a soldier in the Black Hawk War, a store owner, and even a postmaster. He also worked as a surveyor and split rails for fences. It was in New Salem that he was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly, which is like the state's parliament.
Lincoln left New Salem for Springfield in 1837. The village slowly became empty around 1840 as other towns grew. After Lincoln died in 1865, people started gathering information about the village. They collected memories, old papers, and studied the remains of the buildings. In 1921, a state park opened to remember Lincoln and the early history of Illinois. The Civilian Conservation Corps, a group that helped people find work during the Great Depression, rebuilt New Salem in the 1930s. The site is about 15 miles northwest of Springfield. It's also about 3 miles south of Petersburg.
Contents
What Was New Salem?
New Salem was started in 1828 by James Rutledge and John Camron. They built a gristmill on the Sangamon River. A gristmill grinds grain into flour. They then sold plots of land for shops and homes on the hill above the mill.
For a few years, the town grew quickly. But then, the main county office moved to nearby Petersburg. This made New Salem less important, and it started to shrink. By 1840, most people had left the village. Also, the Sangamon River wasn't very good for steamboat travel, which made it harder for the town to grow.
Lincoln's Time in New Salem
In 1831, Abraham Lincoln's family moved to a new home in Coles County. Lincoln, who was 22 years old, decided to live on his own. He arrived in New Salem by flatboat and stayed for about six years.
During his time in New Salem, Lincoln had many different jobs. He worked as a shopkeeper and a soldier. He owned a general store and was the postmaster. He also worked as a land surveyor and split rails. Historians believe Lincoln never owned his own home in the village. Most single men didn't own homes back then. He often slept in the tavern or his store. He would eat meals with families living nearby.
In 1832, he ran for the Illinois General Assembly. He won easily in New Salem but lost the election for the whole county. He tried again in 1834 and won! Lincoln left New Salem and moved to Springfield around 1837. Springfield was also in his election district.
Life in the Village
When Lincoln lived in New Salem, it was a busy place. The village had many different shops and services:
- A cooper shop, which made barrels
- A blacksmith shop, where metal items were made
- A wool carding mill, which prepared wool for spinning
- Four general stores
- A tavern
- A grocery store
- Two doctors' offices
- A shoemaker
- A carpenter
- A hat maker
- A tanner, who prepared animal hides
- A schoolhouse that also served as a church
There were also several homes, shared pastures for animals, and small gardens. New Salem was home to about 20 to 25 families at any one time. It wasn't just a small farm village. It was a commercial village. Many young business people and craftspeople came here to start a new life on the frontier.
Visiting Lincoln's New Salem Today
In 1906, a man named William Randolph Hearst bought the land where the village once stood. He then gave it to a group called the Old Salem Chautauqua Association. In 1919, this land was given to the State of Illinois.
The current village site opened to the public on May 19, 1921. It was rebuilt on the exact spots where the original buildings stood. Most of the rebuilding was done by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Today, it's called Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site.
The site has 23 buildings, mostly log cabins. People dressed in old-fashioned clothes work there. They show what life was like when Lincoln lived there. The cabins, shops, and businesses are filled with tools, objects, and furniture from that time. Many of these items came from old farms and homes in the area. The park is very large, about 700 acres, and includes lots of woodlands.
Twenty-two of the village buildings are new versions of the old ones. But one log cabin, the Onstot Cooper Shop, is actually original! It had been moved to Petersburg in 1840. In 1922, it was brought back to New Salem. It was placed on what experts believe was its first foundation. To rebuild the town, people studied old documents. They also talked to former residents from the late 1800s. These people shared their memories and drawings of the village.
The Talisman Steamboat Story
In the summer of 1961, a special steamboat was built. It was 73 feet long and weighed 40 tons. This boat, named the Talisman, traveled from Dubuque, Iowa to New Salem. It went along the Mississippi River, the Illinois River, and the Sangamon River.
The Talisman was a smaller version of an original boat. The first Talisman traveled in 1832. It went from Cincinnati, Ohio, down the Ohio River, and up the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers. It then came into central Illinois on the Sangamon River. Abraham Lincoln helped clear trees and other things from the riverbanks for the original Talisman's trip. He also helped pilot the boat back to Beardstown.
The rebuilt Talisman had a special dock near the old mill site. Visitors could take short boat rides on the river. But just like the first Talisman, the new boat had problems. The river's water levels became very low over the years. This made it hard or impossible to sail. The boat was finally stopped in the late 1990s. It is now a large decoration a few miles upriver from the historic site.
Plan Your Visit
Lincoln's New Salem is a very popular place to visit. In 2006, about 600,000 people came to see it. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The park has a visitor's center with a museum and a theater.
There are also trails for walking. The Mentor Graham Trail is about 0.75 miles long. The Volksmarch Trail is about 6 miles long. The state park also has 200 campsites. One hundred of these campsites have electrical hookups.
Images for kids
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Onstot's Cooper Shop and cabin
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Steamboat Talisman on Sangamon River in 1970
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