Locations

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1. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site

Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace is commemorated via a Greek Revival architectural structure surrounding a reconstructed log cabin of the 19th Century. The landscape is similar to the young Lincoln family era, and the Sinking Springs is still present.

2. The Lincoln Museum

The Lincoln Museum is a quaint, compact museum full of accurate and informative Abraham Lincoln memorabilia, artifacts, dioramas, and original works of art. The central square of Hodgenville (of Hodgen’s Mill) displays two sculptures of Abraham.

3. Knob Creek

Not far from downtown Hodgenville lies the second homestead of the young Lincoln family. The landscape is full of knobs and creeks and trees.

4. Farmington Historic Plantation

Home to Lucy and John Speed, the Farmington Historic Plantation depicts a 19th Century hemp plantation. John Speed was Lincoln’s last Attorney General.

5. Lincoln Memorial at Waterfront Park

The most recent sculpture of Abraham Lincoln lies in Louisville’s Waterfront Park, along the Ohio River and just to the east of downtown Louisville. The sculpture, by famed sculptor Ed Hamilton, depicts an open and welcoming Lincoln.

6. Mary Todd Lincoln House

Wife to Abraham Lincoln, Mary Todd spent much of her life in Lexington, Kentucky, living with her family in relative luxury.

7. Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate

Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate, is a beautiful example of 19th and 20th Century architecture. The home has been adapted and renovated over the years and is now available for tours, lunch, programs, and experiencing local artisans practice their various crafts.

8. Kentucky Historical Society

Located in downtown Frankfort, the Kentucky Historical Society displays many local artifacts, dioramas, and informative materials that educate visitors about Kentucky’s early, and recent, geography and history.

9. Center for Cultural Resources at IUS Library

One of many diverse and dynamic post-secondary institutions in the state of Indiana is Indiana University Southeast, which also happens to have the most lovely landscape. The Library houses a very useful and practical resource for educators: the Center for Cultural Resources, which provides a series of classroom-ready learning and teaching kits/trunks that can be borrowed.

10. New Albany and Jeffersonville

The cities of New Albany and Jeffersonville, Indiana offer a variety of resources that present a glimpse into Indiana’s 19th Century geography and history: Carnegie Center for Art and History, Old Town Clock Church, Old Quartermaster Depot. These sites present various resources and perspectives on the slavery issue.

11. Lincoln Ferry Park

Located at the point where the Anderson River empties into the Ohio River, Lincoln Ferry Park highlights the point at which the young Lincoln family arrived in Indiana from Kentucky. Also, the Park signifies the place where a teenage Abraham worked to ferry goods and peoples.

12. Abraham Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

A stunning memorial building depicting a series of sculptured reliefs about Abraham Lincoln’s life highlights the Abraham Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Also in the park are the burial site for Nancy Hanks Lincoln, the original log cabin bronze sculpture, a recreated homestead, and the original well.

13. Lincoln Landing

From this site in 1828, Abraham Lincoln and Allen Gentry took their first trip for merchant James Gentry transporting goods south to New Orleans. Some state that it was on this trip that Lincoln solidified his beliefs that slavery should be eliminated.

14. Buffalo Run Farm

An offering of good food, fabulous service, an afternoon in Blab School, feeding buffalo, sitting in a tepee, and experiencing life in a log cabin are ALL available when you visit Buffalo Run Farm.

15. Lincoln State Park

A working state park providing camping, hiking, canoeing, and educational opportunities about Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln State Park also provides theatre performances via The Lincoln Amphitheatre. Sarah Lincoln, Abraham’s sister, is buried in the Park next to Little Pigeon Church, which Thomas and Lincoln helped to build.

16. Lincoln’s New Salem Historic Site

When Lincoln arrived in 1831 at age 22, the settlement of New Salem was only a few years old, rising above the Sangamon River where James Rutledge and John Camron constructed a grist and saw mill. As you walk New Salem’s pathways, you’ll get a glimpse of life in an 1830s trading center.

17. Petersburg

Two miles north of New Salem on the bluffs and part of the floodplain overlooking the Sangamon River, Petersburg was surveyed, mapped, and measured by Abraham Lincoln during its planning stages.

18. Lincoln’s Tomb

An impressive memorial to the 16th President of the United States. This is the third burial site due to poor soil conditions and grave robbery. The landscape is hilly with lots of trees. Several dynamic sculptures surround the memorial depicting Lincoln’s time in the history of the United States.

19. Springfield

Springfield is the third, and current capital, of the state of Illinois, and Springfield was the home to Abraham Lincoln during his mid life as a lawyer and prior to his election to serve as the 16th President of the United States. The city provides visitors a full experience to Lincoln-related sites.

20. Lincoln Library and Museum

The Lincoln Library and Museum, located in Springfield, Illinois, are beautiful architectural structures commemorating the life of Abraham Lincoln. The Museum offers artifacts, dioramas, short videos, documents, and a gift shop, highlighting the experiences of Mr. Lincoln. The Library enables researchers to explore documents and writings by and about Mr. Lincoln.

21. Decatur

The Thomas Lincoln family first settled in Illinois (The Lincoln Trail Homestead) in 1830 when Abraham was 21 years old. Having moved from Spencer County, Indiana, they settled on the north side of the Sangamon River on a ten acre plot of land, on which Abraham helped to build structures, split rails, break ground, and plant crops.