Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial facts for kids
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Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
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Lincoln Farm (replica)
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 Location in Indiana
Location in the United States
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| Location | IN 162, Lincoln City, Indiana, United States |
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| Area | 200 acres (81 ha) |
| Built | 1816 |
| Architect | Bishop, Richard E.; Olmsted, Frederick Law |
| Website | Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000012 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHLD | December 19, 1960 |
| Designated NMEM | February 19, 1962 |
The Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial is a special place in Lincoln City, Indiana. It's a memorial that protects the farm where Abraham Lincoln lived as a boy. He lived here with his family from 1816 to 1830, growing from a 7-year-old boy into a 21-year-old man.
Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, and many other early settlers are buried in the Pioneer Cemetery here. His sister, Sarah Lincoln Grigsby, is buried nearby at Lincoln State Park. The memorial also includes the Lincoln Living Historical Farm, which shows what life was like back then. This important site became a National Historic Landmark in 1960.
Contents
Exploring Lincoln's Boyhood Home
The memorial has a visitor center with a short film about Lincoln's time in Indiana. There are also museum exhibits and special halls to explore. You can find the site easily, just a short drive from Interstate 64.
The Memorial Building
The main part of the memorial is a beautiful limestone building finished in 1945. It has five sculpted panels that show different parts of Lincoln's life. Inside, you can watch a 16-minute film about his years in Indiana. The museum section has many items and displays related to Lincoln. There's also a gallery with artwork, including portraits of Lincoln and his family. You can even see an oil painting of Nancy Hanks Lincoln.
The Living Historical Farm
Near the memorial building, you can see the exact spot where the original Lincoln cabin stood. Its sandstone foundation is still visible, protected by a wall. A short distance away, there's a replica of the farm house. Park rangers dress in old-fashioned clothes and work on this 1820s-style farm. It's like stepping back in time!
Visitors can talk with the rangers and learn about farm life long ago. The Living Historical Farm is open during warmer months. They grow crops, raise animals, and use old farm tools, showing how pioneers lived.
Lincoln's Indiana Years
Abraham Lincoln's family moved to Indiana because his father, Thomas Lincoln, had problems with land ownership in Kentucky. Many families in Kentucky lost their farms because of unclear land titles. Thomas wanted to live in a free state where there was no slavery.
Moving to Indiana
In 1816, the Lincoln family traveled for two weeks to Spencer County, Indiana. Thomas Lincoln was a skilled carpenter. He built their new cabin in just four days, finishing it before winter. The next year, he cleared land, plowed fields, and planted crops.
A Family Tragedy
In September 1818, a sickness called "milk sickness" spread through the community. People got sick from drinking milk or eating meat from cows that had eaten a poisonous plant called white snakeroot. Abraham's mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, became very ill and died on October 5, 1818. She was buried behind the family cabin in what is now Pioneer Cemetery. Other family members and neighbors also died from the illness and were buried nearby.
Life After Nancy's Death
After his mother died, young Abraham continued to work on the farm. His older sister, Sarah, helped care for him. In 1819, his father married Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow with three children. She was a kind stepmother, and Abraham became very close to her. The Lincoln family joined the Little Pigeon Creek Primitive Baptist Church, which you can still see at Lincoln State Park.
Abraham's Education and Work
Abraham started school at age 10, attending for a few months each winter. He loved to read and borrowed books from anyone who would lend them. He also took jobs outside the farm, clearing land and building fences. He enjoyed visiting the general store and grain mill in town, where he would tell stories and listen to older men.
Abraham's trips to Rockport introduced him to lawyers, which sparked his interest in law. He also took a trip by flatboat down to New Orleans to sell goods. It's believed that during this trip, he first saw a slave market. These experiences helped him form his strong opinions against slavery. In March 1830, after 14 years in Indiana, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Central Illinois.
Creating the Memorial
For many years, the site of Lincoln's boyhood home didn't get much attention. But in 1879, Peter Evans Studebaker helped place a headstone at Nancy Hanks Lincoln's grave. Local groups then worked for decades to make the site a recognized historical place. In 1917, they found the foundation of the original cabin and marked it.
In 1927, the Indiana Lincoln Union began raising money for a memorial. In 1932, Lincoln State Park was created next door. Part of that park, including Nancy Lincoln's grave and 29 other graves in Pioneer Cemetery, was later given to the memorial district. The Union continued to raise funds, and the Memorial building was finished in 1944. It features five bas-relief panels by sculptor Elmer Daniels, showing different parts of Lincoln's life.
In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) helped shape the memorial's landscape. They found the original hearthstones of the Lincoln farm and planted over 22,000 native trees. This helped the area look more like the wilderness Abraham Lincoln would have seen. Today, young people still help maintain the park through the Youth Conservation Corps.
In 1962, more land was added, and the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial was officially created. The U.S. Congress put it under the care of the National Park Service. The memorial was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. In 1968, the National Park Service created the Living Historical Farm to help visitors understand what life was like for Lincoln and his neighbors.
Gallery
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Memorial entrance
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Memorial courtyard
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The foundation of the Lincolns' cabin
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Lincoln in Kentucky
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Lincoln in Indiana
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Lincoln in Illinois
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Lincoln in Washington D.C.
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Lincoln's legacy
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Cabin at the Living Historical Farm
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"There I Grew Up...," A History of Abraham Lincoln's Boyhood Home
