Description
This richly illustrated compendium of twenty-two historic buildings in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area includes houses, a hotel, and an art center, all of which are open to the public. Each and every website online links nowadays’s visitors with a place Lincoln lived, a home of a Lincoln friend or a colleague, or a spot that illuminates Lincoln’s era and legacy in central Illinois. Along side dozens of up to date full-color photographs and historical photographs, entries contain explorations of historical connections to Lincoln and detailed information about exceptional features and artifacts. Complete with maps, the book is a handy guide for day trips, extended tours, or armchair adventures.
The four homes in which Lincoln or members of his extended circle of relatives lived include Thomas Lincoln’s log cabin and the Vachel Lindsay house, where Mary Lincoln’s sister, Ann Todd Smith, resided in Springfield. Eight homes of Lincoln’s friends and acquaintances, including John Greene Shastid and David Davis, give the impression that Lincoln easily moved between humble halls and lavish parlors. Ten other sites, —including the homes of an abolitionist, a farmer, and Illinois governors in addition to Joseph Smith’s homestead and mansion and Carl Sandburg’s birthplace, —reveal how nineteenth-century Illinoisans lived and show that Lincoln’s cultural legacy was once still very much alive long after he left the state. An appendix features related sites and the Pittsfield talking house tour.
A showcase of Illinois heritage, this enlightening guide promotes a new understanding of Lincoln’s relationships with circle of relatives, friends, colleagues, and political allies and inspires readers to discuss with these historic treasures in person.