Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial
Encyclopedia
The Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial is a 162 acre (0.65 km²) state park located on the Sangamon River
in Macon County near Harristown, Illinois
, United States.
, from March 1830 until March 1831, of pioneer Thomas Lincoln
and about 12 members of his extended family
, including grown son Abraham Lincoln
.
The Lincolns moved to this location, west of Decatur, Illinois
, from Indiana in March 1830. Using local logs, they constructed a 18 x 18 feet (5.5 m) log cabin
on the site. It was here that Abraham split rails for his father's 10-acre (4-hectare) field, and also "hired out" to split rails for neighboring pioneer farmers, inspiring his later political nickname, the Rail Splitter. Split-rail fence
s were used by pioneer farmers to confine their stock, or to prevent free-range livestock from getting into and damaging a crop field.
The homestead was not successful. The Lincoln family's corn
crop produced a disappointing yield, partly because it was planted directly in the sod of the tallgrass prairie
, and many of the members of the family then developed severe cases of malaria
associated with living in the Illinois wetlands. Following this came the winter of 1830-1831, known to pioneers as the Winter of the Deep Snow. It was a particularly harsh winter for the area, with lengthy periods of sub-zero temperatures and snowfall totalling 6 feet (1.8 m). The Lincoln clan faced serious hunger. According to one report, "Abraham rode to nearby homes seeking food for his family."
The hard winter and miserable conditions broke up the Lincoln family. In March 1831, Thomas Lincoln and his wife Sarah Bush Lincoln
, Abraham's stepmother, moved southeast to Coles County
; they eventually built a new farmstead at what is now the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
near Charleston, Illinois
. Young Abraham hired out as a flatboat
man, on the Sangamon, locating a new home for himself in New Salem, Illinois. See also: Abraham Lincoln's early life and career.
operated by showman P.T. Barnum. After that, the cabin was lost to history and its ultimate fate is unknown.
The abandoned Lincoln farmstead was later settled by the Whitley family, who lived at the site for several generations; the Whiteleys built a dam across the Sangamon river to power a small flour
mill.
The state memorial, created in 1938 on the Whitley site, now serves as a park and picnic area for the greater Decatur, Illinois metropolitan area. The park contains mature second-growth bottomland timber, including black walnut
trees; the Whitleys' pioneer cemetery; and the remains of the flour mill and dam on the Sangamon river. The park was formally dedicated in 1957.
Archeologists have not yet discovered any evidence of the exact location of the Lincoln family's 1830-1831 cabin, and the cabin may have been located within or slghtly outside the state memorial boundary.
Sangamon River
The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long, in central Illinois in the United States. It drains a mostly rural agricultural area between Peoria and Springfield...
in Macon County near Harristown, Illinois
Harristown, Illinois
Harristown is a village in Macon County, Illinois, United States whose population was 1,338 at the 2000 census, and 1,236 in 2009. It is included in the Decatur, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
, United States.
Home of Lincoln family
The state memorial is believed to contain the site of the homesteadHomesteading
Broadly defined, homesteading is a lifestyle of simple self-sufficiency.-Current practice:The term may apply to anyone who follows the back-to-the-land movement by adopting a sustainable, self-sufficient lifestyle. While land is no longer freely available in most areas of the world, homesteading...
, from March 1830 until March 1831, of pioneer Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln
Thomas Lincoln was an American farmer and father of President Abraham Lincoln.-Ancestors:Thomas Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln, a Puritan from East Anglia who landed in Massachusetts in 1637...
and about 12 members of his extended family
Extended family
The term extended family has several distinct meanings. In modern Western cultures dominated by nuclear family constructs, it has come to be used generically to refer to grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins, whether they live together within the same household or not. However, it may also refer...
, including grown son Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
The Lincolns moved to this location, west of Decatur, Illinois
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois. The city, sometimes called "the Soybean Capital of the World", was founded in 1823 and is located along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Central Illinois. In 2000 the city population was 81,500,...
, from Indiana in March 1830. Using local logs, they constructed a 18 x 18 feet (5.5 m) log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
on the site. It was here that Abraham split rails for his father's 10-acre (4-hectare) field, and also "hired out" to split rails for neighboring pioneer farmers, inspiring his later political nickname, the Rail Splitter. Split-rail fence
Split-rail fence
A split-rail fence or log fence is a type of fence constructed out of timber logs, usually split lengthwise into rails and typically used for agricultural or decorative fencing. Such fences require much more timber than other types of fences, and so are generally only common in areas where wood is...
s were used by pioneer farmers to confine their stock, or to prevent free-range livestock from getting into and damaging a crop field.
The homestead was not successful. The Lincoln family's corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
crop produced a disappointing yield, partly because it was planted directly in the sod of the tallgrass prairie
Tallgrass prairie
The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America, with fire as its primary periodic disturbance. In the past, tallgrass prairies covered a large portion of the American Midwest, just east of the Great Plains, and portions of the Canadian Prairies. They flourished in areas with...
, and many of the members of the family then developed severe cases of malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
associated with living in the Illinois wetlands. Following this came the winter of 1830-1831, known to pioneers as the Winter of the Deep Snow. It was a particularly harsh winter for the area, with lengthy periods of sub-zero temperatures and snowfall totalling 6 feet (1.8 m). The Lincoln clan faced serious hunger. According to one report, "Abraham rode to nearby homes seeking food for his family."
The hard winter and miserable conditions broke up the Lincoln family. In March 1831, Thomas Lincoln and his wife Sarah Bush Lincoln
Sarah Bush Lincoln
Sarah Bush Lincoln was the second wife of Thomas Lincoln and stepmother of President of the United States Abraham Lincoln. She was born in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to Christopher and Hannah Bush. She married her first husband, Daniel Johnston, in 1806, and they had three children. When Daniel...
, Abraham's stepmother, moved southeast to Coles County
Coles County, Illinois
Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University....
; they eventually built a new farmstead at what is now the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
The Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site is an 86-acre history park located eight miles south of Charleston, Illinois, U.S.A., near the town of Lerna. Its centerpiece is a replica of the log cabin built and occupied by Thomas Lincoln, father of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln...
near Charleston, Illinois
Charleston, Illinois
Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,838 as of the 2010 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor Mattoon, Illinois...
. Young Abraham hired out as a flatboat
Flatboat
Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with Fil1800flatboat.jpgA flatboat is a rectangular flat-bottomed boat with (mostlyNOTE: "(parenthesized)" wordings in the quote below are notes added to...
man, on the Sangamon, locating a new home for himself in New Salem, Illinois. See also: Abraham Lincoln's early life and career.
Afterwards
The abandoned Lincoln cabin remained on the site and was re-used as a school house and a farm building. It was ignored until 1865 when it was dismantled and shipped for public viewing to Chicago; Boston Common; and finally the private museum in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
operated by showman P.T. Barnum. After that, the cabin was lost to history and its ultimate fate is unknown.
The abandoned Lincoln farmstead was later settled by the Whitley family, who lived at the site for several generations; the Whiteleys built a dam across the Sangamon river to power a small flour
Flour
Flour is a powder which is made by grinding cereal grains, other seeds or roots . It is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cultures, making the availability of adequate supplies of flour a major economic and political issue at various times throughout history...
mill.
The state memorial, created in 1938 on the Whitley site, now serves as a park and picnic area for the greater Decatur, Illinois metropolitan area. The park contains mature second-growth bottomland timber, including black walnut
Black Walnut
Juglans nigra, the Eastern Black walnut, is a species of flowering tree in the hickory family, Juglandaceae, that is native to eastern North America. It grows mostly in riparian zones, from southern Ontario, west to southeast South Dakota, south to Georgia, northern Florida and southwest to central...
trees; the Whitleys' pioneer cemetery; and the remains of the flour mill and dam on the Sangamon river. The park was formally dedicated in 1957.
Archeologists have not yet discovered any evidence of the exact location of the Lincoln family's 1830-1831 cabin, and the cabin may have been located within or slghtly outside the state memorial boundary.
Lincoln's description
Abraham Lincoln himself described his life at the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Memorial in this 1860 account, which he wrote for John L. Scripps of the Chicago Press and Tribune to be used as a campaign biography:March 1, 1830, Abraham having just completed his twenty-first year, his father and family, with the families of the two daughters and sons-in-law of his stepmother, left the old homestead in IndianaIndianaIndiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and came to IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Their mode of conveyance was wagons drawn by ox-teams, and Abraham drove one of the teams. They reached the county of Macon, and stopped there some time within the same month of March. His father and family settled a new place on the north side of the Sangamon River, at the junction of the timberland and prairiePrairiePrairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
, about ten miles (16 km) westerly from Decatur. Here they built a log cabin, into which they removed, and made sufficient of rails to fence ten acres of ground, fenced and broke the ground, and raised a crop of sown cornMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
upon it the same year. These are, or are supposed to be, the rails about which so much is being said just now, though these are far from being the first or only rails ever made by Abraham.