A Day with Lincoln, Part Two

So, I am way behind on our trip to Springfield from nearly two weeks ago, but here goes anyway!

After lunch, we drove 20 miles out of Springfield to New Salem Village, the tiny backwoods town in which Abraham Lincoln spent his early adulthood.  We learned from one of several people in period clothing that there is only one original building in the entire village, and it was found enclosed in another house in nearby Petersburg.  Upon discovery, it was returned to the site of New Salem, taking its place alongside recreated buildings, to give visitors an idea of what a western village was like in the mid-1800’s.  (I still find it disconcerting that Illinois was still considered “west” then!)

Here is the back of that original building, the cooper’s shop.  The kids are playing with the well.

This place was pretty neat.  New Salem eventually became ghost town, after attempts to get the steamboat traffic to it failed.  (The Sangamon River was never deep enough through here for water traffic.)  But because of its role in Lincoln’s life, it was recreated and is quite an educational place.

What I learned is that I’m glad I didn’t live there back then!  But, then, I’m not one who likes to rough it!

We learned about Lincoln’s forays into running a general store (not over successful) and about small-town hierarchies (the richest man had a front porch and a floor of sawed boards).  We were able to see a carding mill and a grist mill, as well as what served as both school and church.  It was a fascinating look at life 150 years ago.

 

We also got to see a cooper and a blacksmith at work and chat with several period-clothed people about life in New Salem.  We also found a really neat gift store in the middle of the village, chock full of things like lye soap, hand-dipped candles, rabbit skins, and pioneer-era games.  We ended up buying a game that Elijah really enjoyed called “Shut the Box.”  The very kind store clerk spent 45 minutes showing my kids how to play all of the games and solve all of the puzzles, a very nice bonus.

Charlotte was still on her crutches for most of this trip, and she did amazingly well hobbling around New Salem, which was done by a self-guided walking tour.  Jeff gave her a piggy-back ride toward the end of our time there, but she was a trooper.

We stayed at New Salem until it closed and then headed back to Peoria, stopping for a bite to eat on the way home.  What a fantastic day.  I am so glad that Jeff went, though.  I’m not sure how fantastic it would have been by myself!