Lincoln Depot facts for kids
The Lincoln Depot is a special train station located in Springfield, Illinois. It's famous because Abraham Lincoln gave his important and heartfelt farewell speech here. This happened in 1861, just before he boarded a train to Washington, D.C. to begin his presidency.
A Look Back at the Depot's History
The Great Western Railroad built this depot in 1852. A fire damaged it in 1857, so it needed a lot of repairs. Later, the Great Western Railroad joined with other small train companies. This new company became the Wabash Railroad.
The Wabash Railroad moved its passenger services to a different building in Springfield. The old depot then became a place for storing freight. In 1900, a second floor was added to the building.
The depot was sold when the Wabash company moved its main operations. After that, the building was used by different businesses. It was often a warehouse or storage space. In the 1960s, a local group bought the depot. They wanted to fix it up and make it a historic site. This group ran the depot as a museum from 1965 to 1976.
Another fire damaged the building in December 1968. Some parts of the building from Lincoln's time still survived. The depot was fixed up again. From 1977 to 1980, Sangamon State University managed the depot. They used it as a museum and also to train history students.
The university stopped running the depot because they ran out of money. Then, Copley Press, a newspaper company, took over. In 2012, a local lawyer named Jon Gray Noll bought the building. After many renovations, his law office moved into the upper floors in 2013. The first floor reopened as a place for tourists to visit. Today, The Noll Law Office and the Lincoln Home National Historic Site work together to operate it. National Park Service Rangers help explain the history to visitors during the open season.
Lincoln's Farewell at the Depot
The Lincoln Depot is only two blocks from Lincoln's home. It was the place where he said goodbye to his friends and neighbors in Springfield. On a dark, cloudy morning in 1861, many people gathered at the station to see Lincoln off.
Lincoln used the office inside the depot as a reception room. His friends and neighbors walked by to shake his hand. When the train arrived, he stepped onto the back platform. Before starting his journey to Washington D.C., he gave a short and emotional farewell speech.
On the second floor, visitors can watch a video about Lincoln's 12-day train journey to Washington. In 1956, on Lincoln's birthday, the depot was used for a reenactment of his farewell. A man named G. William Horsley played Lincoln.
A Recognized Historic Site
A special historical marker was placed at the station in 1966. It is located where Monroe Street and 10th Street meet. The marker reads:
"From this building on February 11, 1861 Abraham Lincoln departed Springfield, Illinois to assume the Presidency of the United States. After bidding farewell to a number of friends, he delivered a brief, spontaneous and moving farewell address to the crowd, estimated at 1,000, from the rear platform of the train."
This marker is part of a series about Lincoln's 1861 Inaugural Train Stops. The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 25, 2014. This means it is officially recognized as an important historical place.
