Looking For Lincoln

Looking For Lincoln The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area It is the only National Heritage Area named for a president.
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The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area was designated by Congress and then the authorizing legislation was signed by the President on May 8, 2008. The legislation designates the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition as the management entity for the heritage area. The coalition and the National Heritage Area cover the same 42 counties in central Illinois. They share a mission to preserve, inte

rpret and promote the heritage and culture of the area, in the context of Abraham Lincoln’s life in Illinois. They further seek to inform and educate, develop and interpret visitor- ready sites, creating a living history experience , chronicling the evolution of the area’s landscape and extending these opportunities to the largest audience possible. By means of a thought-provoking engagement with rich stories and evocative tales of connections, the Heritage Area endeavorsto explore themes
related to Lincoln the lawyer and politician, Lincoln and civil rights, the Underground Railroad, and Lincoln and the Civil War. Under the leadership of the Looking for Lincoln Heritage Coalition, a consortium of central Illinois sites and communities with the crucial support of partners like the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, the Illinois Office of Tourism, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and the National Park Service can now give visitors the opportunity to literally walk in Lincoln’s footsteps

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 31, 1858, Abraham Lincoln arrives by train to Carlinville, Illinois, and at three...
08/31/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 31, 1858, Abraham Lincoln arrives by train to Carlinville, Illinois, and at three o'clock in the afternoon at a place called Morton's Grove, he delivers a speech about the future of slavery in the United States.

A local newspaper reports that Lincoln's speech is "honest, logical and telling." John M. Palmer, an attorney and a former member of the Illinois State Senate, follows Lincoln on the program and makes "one of his usual side-splitting speeches, dealing terrible blows to the bogus-Democracy in every sentence."

The boulder marks the site of Lincoln's speech during his race for the U.S. Senate against Stephen A. Douglas. It was recorded that there was a small audience on hand to hear his speech since he was not very well known in the area, and the principals he espoused were not popular in Macoupin County. It was estimated that less than 100 people were on hand to hear the Springfield lawyer.

Info and photo from the Carlinville Library, plus info from the Carlinville Free Democrat (IL), 2 September 1858, 2:4-5; Speech at Carlinville, Illinois, 31 August 1858, CW, 3:77-81. https://thelincolnlog.org

Learn more about visiting historic Carlinville, IL at:
https://cityofcarlinville.com/tourism/

Lincoln would be proud! Tour the Lincoln- connected Stevens Stone House as part of your Labor Day celebrations! You’re ...
08/28/2026

Lincoln would be proud! Tour the Lincoln- connected Stevens Stone House as part of your Labor Day celebrations!

You’re invited to join the Springfield/Rochester communities on September 6 from 1:00–4:00 PM for an afternoon of history, music, and community at the Rochester Illinois Historical Park.

- Tours of the historic Stevens Stone House, with connections to Abe
- Live music by Around the Bend
- Greenie's Grill Rochester on site
- Historical displays and living history throughout the park

Bring a lawn chair, gather your family and friends, and enjoy a relaxing Labor Day afternoon while supporting the preservation of Rochester’s history.

Admission is free, and everyone is welcome!

The park is located between Springfield and Rochester Illinois at the intersection of West Main and Ebel Drive in Rochester.

About the Stevens Stone House:

Samuel Stevens Came from Charlestown, New Hampshire with Samuel West and Lewis Sargent. The two men operated a grain mill and speculated on land.

Samuel Stevens started building a stone house in 1832, in anticipation of his marriage to Lucetta Putnam. Family legend states that Lucetta's father would not allow her to move to "untamed" Illinois until she had a suitable house in which to live.

In July of 1836, Samuel finished the house, located on the Springfield to Terre Haute Road. In October 1838, the couple's son Phineas was born. One year later, however, Samuel died; and, since Phineas was a minor, Lucetta had to sue her son asking the court to assign her the dower. The court assigned a guardian to safeguard Phineas' interest, and the guardian did not contest the suit.

The young lawyer Abraham Lincoln wrote the final decree, which named three commissioners, Henry Giger, James Bowling, and Lucetta to assign and convey the dower to Lucetta.

Full information about the Rochester Historical Society at:
http://www.rochesterhistoricalsociety.org/

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 27, 1853, Abraham Lincoln christens the new town of “Lincoln,” named for him, with...
08/27/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 27, 1853, Abraham Lincoln christens the new town of “Lincoln,” named for him, with watermelon juice.

According to tradition Lincoln is present. At noon he purchases two watermelons and carries one under each arm to public square. There he invites Latham, Hickox, and Gillette, proprietors, to join him, saying, "Now we'll christen the new town." Watermelon juice is used for this historic event.

First sale of lots takes place in new town. Ninety are sold at prices ranging from $40 to $150.

Today, you can visit one of Illinois' most quirky monuments, commemorating this event.

Learn more at:
https://destinationlogancountyil.com/lincoln-christening...

Lawrence B. Stringer, ed., History of Logan County, 2 vols. (Chicago: Pioneer Publishing Co., 1911), 1:568-69. https://thelincolnlog.org

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 27, 1858 in Freeport, Illinois, U.S. senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Ste...
08/27/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 27, 1858 in Freeport, Illinois, U.S. senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas meet in their second joint debate.

While Stephen Douglas kept his seat in the Senate after the debates, his reply that each state should be perfectly free to do as it pleased in regards to slavery, no matter the ruling of the Supreme Court, stirred a sentiment of betrayal among constituents that would come back to haunt him in his bid for President in the election of 1860.

Abraham Lincoln’s point that “a house divided could not stand,” his belief that Americans of every race were entitled to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” and his stance against Douglas’ advocacy for popular sovereignty were what ultimately led to his election later on.

Learn more about visiting the debate site in Freeport (and nearby ice cream!) at:
https://greaterfreeport.com/visit/history/

Info: Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 30 August 1858, 2:3, 1 September 1858, 2:1-4, 2 September 1858, 2:1-4; Chicago (IL) Daily Press and Tribune, 30 August 1858, 1:4-6, 2:2-7; Second Debate with Stephen A. Douglas at Freeport, Illinois, 27 August 1858, CW, 3:38-76. https://thelincolnlog.org

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 26, 1858 in Macomb, IL, T. P. Pearson takes an ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln, rema...
08/26/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 26, 1858 in Macomb, IL, T. P. Pearson takes an ambrotype of Abraham Lincoln, remarked as the 'best likeness' of the future president.

Mr. Lincoln, upon entering Pearson's studio, looked at the camera as though he was unfamiliar with such an instrument, and then remarked: ‘Well, do you want to take a shot at me with that thing?’

He was shown to a glass [mirror], where he was told to ‘fix up,’ but declined, saying it would not be much of a likeness if he fixed up any.

The old neighbors and acquaintances of Mr. Lincoln in Illinois, upon seeing this picture, [were] apt to exclaim: ‘There! that’s the best likeness of Mr. Lincoln that I ever saw!’ The dress he wore in this picture is the same in which he made his famous canvass with Senator Douglas.”

Info is from and inscription by J. C. Power, written on the back of the same photographic print of the Macomb ambrotype in the collection of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield. J. C. Power was for many years the custodian of the Lincoln monument in Springfield.

Learn about visiting the great Looking for Lincoln community of Macomb, Illinois at:
https://www.visitforgottonia.com/

Happy 110th Birthday to the National Park Service!Looking for Lincoln/The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area is prou...
08/25/2026

Happy 110th Birthday to the National Park Service!

Looking for Lincoln/The Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area is proud to be a member of the National Heritage Area System. We think of ourselves as a 'cousin' to the National Parks, and a proud member of the family of sites that preserve, promote, and tell the stories of our nation.

Happy Birthday!

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 25, 1835, Ann Rutledge, Abraham Lincoln's alleged first love, dies at age 22 in S...
08/25/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 25, 1835, Ann Rutledge, Abraham Lincoln's alleged first love, dies at age 22 in Sangamon County after a wave of typhoid hit the town of New Salem.

When the gawky twenty-two-year-old Lincoln first arrived in New Salem, he boarded at John Rutledge's tavern and met the owner's daughter, Ann. Their friendship grew over the years and blossomed according to some, into romance.

Although Ann was engaged, her fiancé had gone back east to sort out some family business matters. He had been gone over two years, and folks were wondering if her fiancé would ever come back. Some later claimed that Lincoln saw this as his chance to pursue Ann. But it was not to be.

In the summer of 1835, Ann got the "brain fever" (probably typhoid) and died. Abe was depressed and heartbroken. Although it can't be proved, some people feel that Ann was Lincoln's first true love.

Photo and text is from the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, of Lincoln with an woman at a store in New Salem. There are no known photos of Ann Rutledge.

Learn about visiting New Salem at:
https://visitspringfieldillinois.com/LocationDetails/?id=Lincoln%27s-New-Salem-State-Historic-Site

It's National Park Week! Love national parks? National Park Week is happening August 22-30 this year, a celebration of e...
08/22/2026

It's National Park Week!

Love national parks? National Park Week is happening August 22-30 this year, a celebration of everything "parks!"

Looking for Lincoln is a partner of the National Park Service as member of the National Heritage Area System. We are proud to have the Lincoln Home and New Philadelphia sites within our boundaries, and excited to help tell their stories.

A few upcoming highlights:

August 25, 2026: National Park Service’s 110th birthday
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/nps-birthday.htm

August 25, 2026: An entrance fee free day for US citizens and residents
https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

August 30, 2026: National Junior Ranger Day
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/npscelebrates/national-junior-ranger-day.htm

The NPS has more than 400 national parks nationwide of different shapes, sizes, and types. We hope you can discover what the National Park Service does through their programs and partners to preserve natural and cultural heritage and provide recreational opportunities in places across the country.

Get out an explore!

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 21, 1858, the first of the notable Lincoln-Douglas debates debuts in Ottawa, IL. ...
08/21/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 21, 1858, the first of the notable Lincoln-Douglas debates debuts in Ottawa, IL.

The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. The debates were designed to generate publicity—some of the first examples of what today would be known as "media events".

And it worked. Newspapers report, "Twelve Thousand Persons Present!"

Douglas asserts, "Mr. Lincoln and his party...are trying to array all the Northern States...against the South, to excite a sectional war between the free States and the slave States."

Lincoln responds, "I leave it to you to say whether, in the history of our government, this institution of slavery has not always failed to be a bond of union, and, on the contrary, been an apple of discord and an element of division."

Learn more about visiting Ottawa at:
https://www.visitottawail.com

Info from Daily Illinois State Register (Springfield), 24 August 1858, 2:2-3; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 24 August 1858, 2:3; Chicago (IL) Daily Press and Tribune, 23 August 1858, 1:2-9, 4:1; Abraham Lincoln to Joseph Gillespie, 21 August 1858, CW, 3:1-37. https://thelincolnlog.org, and Wikipedia.

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 18, 1971, Lincoln Home National Historic Site was authorized by President Richard...
08/18/2026

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On August 18, 1971, Lincoln Home National Historic Site was authorized by President Richard Nixon and formally established on October 9, 1972, to preserve and protect the only home ever owned by President Abraham Lincoln.

In total, the buildings included in the park make up four-and-a-half square blocks on 12 acres.

Today, the site is a well-interpreted location of the National Park Service, and well worth a visit. It sits only a few blocks from the Illinois Old State Capitol, the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, and other historic sites. Learn more about visiting at:
https://www.nps.gov/liho/planyourvisit/index.htm

Address

P. O. Box 5398
Springfield, IL
62705

Telephone

+12174928366

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