I’m sure that all of us can recall at least one school fieldtrip to a local historical location. Some people remember with disdain the boring bus ride, the endless amounts of monotone information and the exhilaration of FINALLY getting to lunch at the local fast food restaurant. I was never one of those people. Family vacations and “explores” were never complete unless we had visited at least one “Dead Person’s House” (as dubbed by my most eloquent younger brother.) For those of you who, like me, live for the opportunity to learn about times gone by, I encourage you to follow your feet off the beaten path to find some of our country’s greatest treasures and best-kept secrets as I share some of my favorite spots with you…

Nestled deep in America’s heartland, there is a city that, until very recently, was just like many other mid-sized towns in America – a main street with small business, a few larger industrial areas, and a plethora of homes of all shapes and sizes.

Unlike other towns, however, this was where one of our country’s most influential leaders lived, worked, married and began his family.

Abraham Lincoln’s early life was spent farther south than Springfield. He was born in Kentucky, and moved to Indiana with his father and mother at the age of 8, shortly before his mother passed away. If you’re in the area, or have to pass through on the way to Springfield, there are actually interesting Lincoln Memorials both in Kentucky and in Southern Indiana also.

In his early twenties, Lincoln moved with his father and step-mother to Illinois, and settled in a small town called New Salem. Here he did odd-jobs for neighbors, including working on a farm and keeping a small shop. While there, he also spent a great deal of effort on improving his education. New Salem should also be the first stop on any visit to Lincoln’s home. This is one of the finest living history museums in the Midwest. All the volunteers and docents do their best to remain true to the time period at all times – from their buildings and crafts, down to their manner of speech and dress.

Springfield was Lincoln’s next stop. It was here that he met Mary Todd, raised his 4 sons, and made a name for himself as a lawyer. In 1858, he captivated the nation while debating Stephen Douglas for a seat in the Senate. Douglas won the Senate seat, but Lincoln won the Republican nomination for President. His story from this point is well known: the unavoidable civil war, the Emancipation Proclamation, and his untimely death at Ford’s Theater, at the hands of John Wilkes Booth, and his last trip back to his home in Springfield.

Today, not only has the Lincoln home been restored to the way Abe and Mary Todd kept it, but the surrounding neighborhood has been turned into a living history museum that helps to shed insight on the times leading up to one of the most tumultuous points in America’s past. Springfield was also chosen as the site for the Lincoln Presidential Library – which was officially opened to the public on April 5, 2005.

No visit to Lincoln’s home would be complete without a trip to the cemetery to visit his burial site. Not only it is a solemn memorial to a great president, and the bleak time through which he led this country, but it is also said that rubbing the nose on his statue will bring good luck to the visitor.

Happy History Hunting!