11/01/2026
The Annual Fundraiser went very well this afternoon. Our honoree Starhill Forest Arboretum, was well represented by Edie Sternberg, one of the Arboretum’s founders and a former president of NSLL. The other founder (Guy Sternberg) was unable to attend due to a previous commitment. Arboretum manager Alana McKean also shared valuable information about the Arboretum.
In 1816, Thomas Lincoln moved to Indiana where, according to Lincoln’s autographic sketch, the family “settled in an unbroken forest, and the clearing away of surplus wood was the great task ahead. Abraham, though very young, was large of his age, and had an axe put into his hands at once; and from that till within his twenty-third year he was almost constantly handling that most useful instrument--less, of course, in plowing and harvesting seasons.”
Guess where Lincoln was living in his 23rd year? Yes, New Salem! We even have a statue commemorating him putting down the axe and striding forward with a book! But he was not done with the woods yet.
Lincoln also said when “The store winked out. The surveyor of Sangamon offered to depute to Abraham that portion of his work which was within his part of the county. He accepted, procured a compass and chain, studied Flint and Gibson a little, and went at it. This procured bread, and kept soul and body together. “
So, it’s easy to see that the woods played an important role in Lincoln’s early life. It’s therefore altogether fitting and proper that we should have an arboretum devoted to making sure that we don’t lose sight of this natural resource Starhill Forest Arboretum has spent the last half century helping in that endeavor.
