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The Illinois state capital, SPRINGFIELD
, spreads out from a neat, leafy downtown grid, 199 miles south
of Chicago. Abraham Lincoln honed his legal and political skills
here, and tourists flock to his old homes, haunts and final resting
place. What they find is neither tacky nor pompous. The sites
portray the life of the sixteenth president of the USA and, as
well, the uncertainty and turmoil of a nation on the brink of
civil war.
Twenty miles northwest of Springfield on Hwy-97,
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site marks where the
future president first came to live in this area in 1831. In this
backwoods clearing he clerked in a store, volunteered for the
Black Hawk War, served as postmaster and failed in business before
taking up legal studies and moving to Springfield to pursue his
political career. Today the authentically re-created village features
simple homes, workshops, a store and a tavern. The visitor
center hosts a worthwhile exhibit on pioneer lifestyles
(March-Oct daily 9am-5pm; Nov-Feb daily 8am-4pm). On summer weekends
the park presents Abraham !, a musical that dramatizes Lincoln's
New Salem years.
Pick up tickets at the Lincoln Home Visitor
Center , at Eighth and Jackson in Springfield itself,
for a narrated tour of the only house Lincoln ever owned, which
he shared with his wife Mary from 1844 to 1861. Though tours are
free (daily 8.30am-5pm, though often later; tel 217/523-0222),
you can expect to wait. Various displays and a brief film at the
visitor center are good ways to pass time.
In the restored Greek Revival Old State
Capitol , three blocks away at Sixth and Adams (March-Oct
daily 9am-5pm; Nov-Feb daily 9am-4pm; free; tel 217/785-7960),
Lincoln attended at least 240 Supreme Court hearings, and proclaimed
in 1858, "A house divided against itself cannot stand. I
believe this government cannot endure permanently, half slave
and half free." Objects, busts and papers relating to Lincoln
and the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, whom he debated in the 1858
US Senate election (Douglas won that election) and whom he defeated
in the 1860 presidential election, can be found throughout the
building. At the tastefully renovated Lincoln Depot
on Tenth and Monroe (April-Aug daily 10am-4pm; free), the newly
elected president said goodbye to Springfield in February 1861
and boarded a train for his inauguration in Washington, DC (a
slide show illustrates the twelve-day journey). The next time
he returned was in his funeral train. Lincoln's Tomb
stands in Oak Ridge Cemetery on the north side of town. The vault,
adorned with busts and statuettes, is open to the public (March-Oct
daily 9am-5pm; Nov-Feb daily 9am-4pm; free).
At the current Illinois State Capitol
, in majestic limestone at Second and Capitol, tour highlights
include the chambers of the state Senate and House of Representatives,
in striking red and blue, respectively (Mon-Fri 8am-4pm; free;
tel 217/782-2099). The Illinois State Museum
, on Spring and Edwards, is crammed with natural history and Native
American and contemporary art exhibits, along with the interactive
" At Home in the Heartland " display
tracing Illinois family life from 1700 to 1970 (Mon-Sat 8.30am-5pm,
Sun noon-5pm; free). The Dana-Thomas House ,
301 E Lawrence Ave, completed in 1904, survives as the best-preserved
and most completely furnished example of Frank Lloyd Wright
's early Prairie house, with more than four hundred pieces
of glasswork, original art and light fixtures (tours Wed-Sun 9am-4pm;
$3). Just north of town, Bill Shea proudly displays 50 years'
worth of road signs, gas pumps, and Route 66 memorabilia at Shea's
Gas Station Museum (Tues-Fri 9am-4pm, Sat 9am-noon; free).
