Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
The reconstructed Lincoln family cabin
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site Location in Illinois
Country	United States
State	Illinois
County	Coles
Time zone	UTC-6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
Website	http://www.lincolnlogcabin.org/

The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site is a special history park. It covers about 86 acres (0.35 square kilometers). You can find it about 8 miles (13 km) south of Charleston, Illinois, near Lerna.

The main attraction is a copy of the log cabin where Thomas Lincoln lived. He was the father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln never actually lived in this cabin. He only visited sometimes. But he did help his family with money. After his father, Thomas, passed away in 1851, Abraham owned the farm. He took care of it for his stepmother, Sarah Bush Lincoln. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency manages this historic farm.

The Lincoln Family's Journey

Abraham Lincoln's first mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, died in 1818. The family lived in a log cabin in southern Indiana. In 1819, Abraham's father, Thomas Lincoln, married a widow named Sarah Johnston. She was from Elizabethtown, Kentucky.

In 1830, Thomas and Sarah moved west from Indiana to Central Illinois. They followed their daughter and other family members. Abraham, even though he was an adult, decided to go with his father and stepmother.

Settling in Coles County

After a very tough winter in 1830–1831 near Decatur, young Abraham left his family. He wanted to start his own life and find success in Sangamon County. Thomas and Sarah moved generally southeast. They finally settled in Coles County.

They tried living on three different farms in the county without much success. In 1840, Thomas bought a small piece of land. It was near the Embarras River. This area was called Goosenest Prairie. Today, it's in Pleasant Grove Township.

Building the Final Home

Soon after buying the land, Thomas and Sarah built their last home. It was a "saddlebag" style log cabin. It had two main rooms. There was also extra space for sleeping and storage in a loft. You could reach the loft by a ladder.

By 1845, the cabin was home to many family members. As many as 18 people from the Lincoln and Johnston families lived there. This kind of large family living was common in the Appalachian South. Abraham Lincoln was becoming a successful state legislator and lawyer. He helped his parents with money. However, he did not visit them as often as he could have. He was often in Charleston for court, but only visited his parents "every year or two."

Abraham was not very close to his father. He did not even visit when Thomas Lincoln was very sick in 1851.

Abraham's Last Visit

In January 1861, Abraham Lincoln was the president-elect. He traveled by train from Springfield to Farmington. This town was a few miles north of the cabin. He went to visit his stepmother, who was now a widow. Farmington is now a small place called Campbell, Illinois.

Abraham and Sarah met at the home of Reuben Moore. Reuben was Sarah's son-in-law and Abraham's step-brother-in-law. They also visited Thomas Lincoln's grave at Shiloh Cemetery. Sarah loved her stepson and always believed he would do great things. This was their last visit. Lincoln never returned to Illinois alive.

Sarah Bush Lincoln continued to live in the Goosenest Prairie cabin. She passed away in 1869. Sarah Lincoln was buried next to Thomas in Shiloh Cemetery.

The Historic Site Today

In 1893, the original Thomas Lincoln log cabin was taken apart. It was sent to Chicago to be shown at the World's Columbian Exposition. After the Exposition, the original cabin was lost. It might have even been used as firewood.

However, many photos of the cabin had been taken. People also had descriptions of it. So, an exact copy was built using these pictures and notes.

Preserving History

In 1907, Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage bought the cabin for $25,000. That would be about $740,000 today (in 2021). She wanted to put it in a glass case to keep it safe forever.

The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site today has three main parts:

• A copy of the Thomas Lincoln log cabin. It was finished in 1934 by the Civilian Conservation Corps. This cabin is the main part of the site. It is surrounded by a farm that looks like Thomas Lincoln's actual farm. The farm has old types of crops and cattle.
• The Stephen Sargent home. This house was built 10 miles east in 1843. It was moved to the Lincoln Log Cabin site in 1987. It shows how successful farmers grew crops to sell in the 1840s. It helps visitors compare it to the Lincoln farm.
• The Reuben Moore Home. A part of the family lived here starting in 1856. This was where Abraham and Sarah Bush Lincoln had their last meeting. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the main Goosenest Prairie site.

Experiencing the Past

The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site shows what life was like in the mid-1840s. This was when many members of the Lincoln family lived there. The main site also has cornfields, gardens, small fruit trees, and farm animals. These would have been found on a farm back then. The crops and animals are all old, special types. Many extra activities happen during the yearly Fall Harvest Frolic.

Due to money problems, the state of Illinois closed the site for a short time. It was closed from December 2008 to April 2009. On January 22, 2014, part of the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places. This was because of an old camp there, not because of the buildings or Lincoln.

Images for kids

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  The reconstructed Lincoln family cabin