We arrived in Springfield Thursday, a day ahead of schedule. We decided to bypass St. Louis, MO for the time being, and opted to rest up for part of a day before the reunion.
We managed to fit in three of our tours on Friday. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, the Old State House, and the State Capitol.
When we arrived at the Lincoln Museum, we were greeted by Abe and his family. They graciously posed for a photo with us and then hurried off to a White House function.
As we traveled back in time, we visited with a young Abe and were given a tour of the cabin where he grew up. Of course, we were not the only invited guest so we could not stay long.
If any of our faithful readers ever visit Springfield, we encourage them to wander through this museum. It is a tremendous place with fabulous exhibits, and has two shows that rival any that Disney ever produced.
Across the street from the museum is the Presidential Library. We did not visit here as it is mainly a research type library. If you need to research Lincoln for that next book you write, this is the place to be.
This is the Old State House, the first Illinois capitol.
See the top hat sitting on the desk. That is where Abe sat when he was a state legislator.
This is the old RR station which has been renovated.
It is a beautiful building. It's now a visitor center
The State Capitol.
An interior photo of the dome. With a total ground height of 361 feet, the Illinois capitol is the tallest domed capitol, even exceeding the height of the United States Capitol in Washington, DC. A city statute does not allow buildings to be built higher than the Capitol building. Check out the relief casting.
This shows the Lincoln - Douglas debate.
The relief ring is a description of the state's history up to about 1890.
The Representative's Chamber
The Senate Chamber
On Saturday late afternoon we left the reunion group and returned to the downtown area to visit the Lincoln home site. The Lincoln Home National Historical Site encompasses four square blocks of houses that are maintained in the period of the 1850's. The streets are graveled, the curbing is wooden, and the lamp posts are gas-light. The home is complete with furnishings that the Lincolns used. Robert Lincoln was the last surviving member of the family and deeded the home to the Park Service for one dollar, if they would not charge for tours of the home. Tickets are free, and a hot commodity. Only three or four groups of about 6 to 8 people are permitted in the house at any time.
This fellow portrayed a reporter/artist that was sent by his magazine to sketch the Lincoln home and family. He was in character as he told us why he was there. After we told him how much we enjoyed his performance, and then asked how long he had been doing this. He replied that it was his first day, had been at it since 10AM, and gave the performance every five minutes. It was now 4:30PM!
This is Abe Lincoln's bedroom. He never slept in this bed...
it is a reproduction.
This is about the only piece of furniture that is not original.
This is the original stove that Mary Lincoln used.
On Sunday morning before we headed off for Joanne's home, we went to Lincoln' Tomb.
A very fitting memorial for a great man.
If you notice, Lincoln nose is very shiny. I don't know if it's tradition or what, but everyone who had their picture taken next to the bust rubbed his nose. Not very respectful we felt. Parents were even lifting their kids up so they could rub the nose.
This is in the interior of the memorial. Lincoln is buried just behind and underneath the marker.
Okay...just about caught up on our rambling and roaming.
We're back in St. Louis now. More sights to see.
Til we meet again, I remain, your "Honest John" correspondent.
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