Top 16 Historic Sites of Our 16th President

The Life of Abraham Lincoln

Kentucky – Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln

1. Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park

On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Farm, Hodgenville, Kentucky. A cabin symbolic of the one Lincoln was born in, is preserved in a memorial building at the site.

Indiana – Boyhood Home of Abraham Lincoln

2. Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Abraham Lincoln’s boyhood home was in southern Indiana.

Illinois – Land of Lincoln

3. Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site

Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. While in his twenties, the future U.S. President made his living in this village as a boatman, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, surveyor, and rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly.

4. Postville Courthouse State Historic Site

The Postville Courthouse State Historic Site is a replica county courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois. The original frame courthouse was built in 1840 and later moved to Greenfield Village in Michigan. The replica courthouse was built in 1953. The original building was one of the courthouses used by lawyer Abraham Lincoln as he traveled the circuit of courtrooms in central Illinois.

5. Vandalia State House Memorial

6. Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices State Historic Site

Attorney Abraham Lincoln and his law office partner Stephen T. Logan in 1843 moved their offices to a third-floor office in the Tinsley Block, Springfield, Illinois, while the U.S. District Court rented space on the second floor. Lincoln and Logan also pleaded cases at the the Illinois Supreme Court, which met in the Old State Capitol across the street.

7. Old State Capitol State Historic Site

The Old State Capitol State Historic Site, in Springfield, Illinois, is the fifth capitol building built for Illinois. It was built in the Greek Revival style in 1837–1840, and served as the state house from 1840 to 1876. It is the site of candidacy announcements by Abraham Lincoln in 1858. In 1860, he gave his “Lincoln’s House Divided Speech” speech here.

8. Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Lincoln Home National Historic Site preserves the Springfield, Illinois home and related historic district where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1844 to 1861.

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9. Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site

Lincoln’s Tomb is located in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

New York – The Cooper Union Speech

10. Cooper Union

On February 27, 1860, Abraham Lincoln delivered The Cooper Union Speech in New York City. It is considered one of his most important speeches. Lincoln elaborated on his views about slavery, affirming that he did not want it to expand into the Western Territories, claiming that the Founding Fathers would agree with this position.

Washington D.C. – Sixteenth President

11. U.S. Capitol Building

Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln as President – Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office as the 16th U.S. President at his inauguration on March 4, 1861, at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC.

12. White House

Except for the summer and fall months noted below, President Lincoln and his family stayed at the White House from March 4, 1861 until his assassination on April 15, 1865.

13. President Lincoln and Soldiers’ Home National Monument

During the Civil War, President Lincoln and his family resided here from June to November of 1862, 1863 and 1864.

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14. Ford’s Theatre National Historic Site

Ford’s Theater, Washington DC, was the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth shot the president who was fatally wounded and carried across the street to the Petersen House. President Lincoln died the next morning in the Petersen House.

Maryland – Site of Emancipation Proclamation

15. Antietam National Battlefield

Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation after claiming a Union victory at this bloody battle in Antietam, Maryland, in September 1862.

Pennsylvania – Site of Gettysburg Address

16. Gettysburg National Military Park

On November 19, 1863, President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The speech is regarded as one of the greatest speeches in American history.

The Honored Memory of Abraham Lincoln

A) Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s bronze sculptures of Abraham Lincoln in Chicago:

• • • Abraham Lincoln: The Man, Lincoln Park (1887)
    • Abraham Lincoln: The Head of State, Grant Park (1908)

B) Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC (1922)

C) Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota (1927-1941)

D) Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois (2005)