Lincoln Pilgrimage - Day 1 Summary

What an amazing first full day here in Springfield, Illinois.  My father-in-law, Eric Borsting, and I are on a "pilgrimage" to visit sites significant to the life of Abraham Lincoln in anticipation of the 200th anniversary of his birth.

First we went to the place where Lincoln spent his early adult life:  New Salem, IL.  New Salem was a small frontier village founded in 1829.  Lincoln arrived there in 1831, at the age of 22.  There he tried his hand at being a merchant and a surveyor before deciding that the law was his passion.

Here is the mercantile store that Lincoln opened along with a friend, William Barry.  After business was slow, they decided to move the business down the road, closer to another more successful store (hmmm, not a very shrewd business move).  Crushed under a mountain of debt, Lincoln and Barry went out of business.

Our tour guide for the first half of the day was Richard DeSollar of the Springfield Philatelic Society.  My father-in-law, also an avid philatelist (stamp collector) began corresponding with Mr. DeSollar about four years ago.  Richard was very kind to give up a Sunday to show us out-of-towners all around.  He also told us some great stories about Lincoln and local Springfield history.  Thanks, Richard!

After New Salem, we went by the Lincoln tomb.  It's closed until Tuesday, but at least we got to see the outside.  I'm looking forward to our return so I can pay my respects to our 16th President.

Here was a great treat:  Lincoln's home!  We didn't even think it would be open this late on a Sunday afternoon, but we got lucky.  Here is the home that Lincoln and his family lived in from 1844 to 1861.  Compare my photo to this one from 1860 (courtesy of the Lincoln Library in Springfield), and you can see that not much has changed in almost 150 years.

Here I am getting ready to walk through Abraham Lincoln's front door!  Inside the house, there are only three original pieces:  the bannister that Lincoln held onto as he climbed up and down the stairs, the stove that Mary Todd Lincoln cooked their meals on, and the desk that he wrote at.  And here's the desk!!

At this desk is where Lincoln likely wrote his Farewell Address, delivered on February 11, 1861, right before he got on the train on the whistle-stop tour that would ultimately arrive in Washington, DC, for his inauguration on March 4.  Sadly, the next time Lincoln would re-visit Springfield would again be on a train--this time a funeral train, bringing him home to his final rest on May 3, 1865.

On a happier note, there will be more fun Lincoln adventures tomorrow!!  Stay tuned . . .

RVI