Unearthing history at Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park and Memorial. Searching for Thomas Lincoln’s Cabin Story By Floyd Mansberger Today, a plaque at Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park and Memorial near Decatur incoln Trail Homestead marks one potential site of the Lincoln fami - State Park and Memorial, a ly’s log cabin. A replica of the original cabin small park located west of (above) was destroyed by fire in 1990. Decatur along the north shore of the Sangamon the ague (malaria) and experienced one LRiver, commemorates the location of In March 1830, the Lincoln family— of the worst winters documented for the Thomas Lincoln family’s initial set - which included 21-year-old Abraham— central Illinois (often referred to as the tlement in Illinois. relocated from southern Indiana and Winter of the Deep Snow, 1830-31). settled at a location along the north The following spring, the family packed ) . s w e bank of the Sangamon River. At this up and moved farther south—re-set - r d n A location, the family constructed a tling in rural Coles County (the current y h t a K rather primitive log house and cleared, location of the Lincoln Log Cabin State y b o t o planted and fenced in a few acres of Historic Site near Lerna). At that time, h P ( corn, planning to make this their home. the young Lincoln left his family, set - Unfortunately, it was a rough year for tling at New Salem and later Spring - the Lincoln family, who suffered from field—and eventually became president of the United States. The exact location of Thomas Lincoln’s In June 1860, John L. Scripps of the Macon County cabin has been debated Chicago Press and Tribune, wrote a for more than 100 years. Two monuments third-person autobiography of Abraham Lincoln. In part, this autobiography stat - document potential locations, but ed the following regarding the presi - questions remain. dent’s brief stay in Macon County. 10 / Outdoor Illinois August 2009 Detail from Atlas of Macon County, Illinois (Warner and Beers 1874). The “Lincoln Cabin” is depicted as being located on the SE1/4 of the section at this date. By this time, the Whitley mill apparently had been abandoned. Little is known about the cabin’s his - tory from the time the Lincoln family left it in 1831 until the mid 1860s. Dur - ing those years, the cabin was simply one of thousands of mundane log struc - tures dotting the central Illinois land - scape. But that quickly changed. Upon the assassination of Lincoln in April 1865, the cabin became an icon associated with the martyred presi - arch 1, 1830, Abraham having same month of March. His father and dent’s early life. Shortly after Lincoln’s death, John Hanks and his brother dis - Mjust completed his twenty-first family settled a new place on the north mantled the cabin and took it on tour, year, his father and family, with the side of the Sangamon River, at the junc - with exhibitions across the eastern families of the two daughters and sons- tion of the timberland and prairie, United States, including Chicago, in-law of his stepmother, left the old about ten miles westerly from Decatur. Boston, New York and probably homestead in Indiana and came to Illi - Here they built a log cabin, into which Philadelphia. And then, the cabin nois. Their mode of conveyance was they removed, and made sufficient of was lost to history. wagons drawn by ox-teams, and Abra - rails to fence ten acres of ground, ham drove one of the teams. They fenced and broke the ground, and reached the county of Macon, and raised a crop of sown corn upon stopped there some time within the it the same year. Cabinet card or large carte-de- visite view of “President Lincoln’s first Home in Illinois” (Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum). This heavily re-worked lithographic image is labeled “Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1865, by J. L. Campbell, in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Northern District of Illinois.” Dennis Hanks (left) and John Hanks (right) are standing in front of the cabin. ) . s w e r d n A y h t a K y b o t o h P Sangamon River August 2009 Outdoor Illinois / 11 ( reviewed—within a single document. As this year marks the 200th anniver - sary of Lincoln’s birth, and with renewed interest in Lincoln’s past, the City of Decatur has been studying the possibility of partnering with the state to again reconstruct the Lincoln cabin on state land. In an effort to better understand the history of the cabin in hopes of developing plans for the even - tual reconstruction of that historic structure, the city contracted with his - toric specialists Massie, Massie and Associates Architects and Fever River Research, both of Springfield. Over the past several months, all Lithographic image of the “Front View of just outside of the current park. For available documents relating to the Lin - many years thereafter, debate raged as Lincoln’s Pioneer Home, On the Sangamon coln family cabin—several 1860s images to whether this was the proper location, River. Built and occupied by himself.” This of the cabin, 19th century plats and or if a second location—purchased by atlases, published county histories and a lithograph was prepared by Charles Shober the state in 1938 to become the Lincoln variety of 19th and 20th century news - (“cor Lake & Clark St. Chicago”) from a Trail Homestead State Park and Memori - paper accounts and correspondence— photograph taken by H. W. Scibird. The fine al—was the most likely candidate. were scrutinized in an effort to better Archaeological investigations con - print on the lithograph notes that the understand the history of the site, the ducted at the state-owned site in the image was “entered according to Act of original location of the cabin and poten - early 1940s, by a trained professional tial appearance of that structure. The Congress May 16th 1865 by G. S. Simpson & archaeologist in the employ of the subsequent report summarized the lim - Co. in the Office of the District Court of state, concluded that this was, indeed, ited information available regarding the the location of the Lincoln cabin. In the Southern Dist. Of Ill.” (Abraham Lincoln cabin’s size, floor plan, elevations and mid 1950s, the state constructed a mon - Presidential Library and Museum, Spring - construction details, but, unfortunately, ument at the park and, in the mid field, Illinois). 1970s in anticipation of the U.S. Bicen - tennial, a replica cabin was construct - View of “Lincoln’s Early Home in Illinois”— The exact location of the Lincoln fam - ed. That cabin, which was not the most as depicted in 1874 Menard County plat ily’s Macon County homestead has been authentic of reconstructions, was (Warner and Beers 1874)—This image rep - a topic of discussion for well over 100 destroyed by fire in 1990. resents a very good depiction of the early years, with multiple locations touted as Although a great variety of informa - the actual site of the cabin’s location. tion is available regarding the original style of cabin used by the first generation In 1904, the Daughters of the Ameri - Lincoln family cabin, it has never been of settlers in Illinois, and is an excellent can Revolution commemorated a site properly presented—and critically model for any future reconstructions. 12 / Outdoor Illinois August 2009 The original cabin would have been century agricultural activities are docu - At a glance constructed without the use of brick, mented within this area on a recently Lincoln Trail Homestead State however, brick may have been used discovered 1912 farm survey plat, Memorial , 705 Spitler Park Drive, Mt. with possible later modifications from including a cattle-dipping tank, wind Zion, IL 62549 1830 through 1865. The replacement pump, water tank and a 20 foot by 30 Telephone: (217) 864-3121 of the original mud-and-stick chimney foot concrete floor. More than likely, Web site: www.dnr.state.il.us/lands/ Landmgt/parks/r3/linctrl.htm would, no doubt, have consisted of the the bricks previously identified as the use of brick, but the size of the brick Lincoln cabin site were associated with Lincoln Log Cabin , 400 S. Lincoln Highway Road, P.O. Box 100, Lerna, IL scatter and the volume of the brick pre - the agricultural activities identified on 62440 sent is too large and dense to represent the 1912 map. Telephone: (217) 345-1845 the Lincoln cabin even with later modi - So, where was the original Lincoln Web site: www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/ lincoln_log.htm fications—and it lacks household arti - cabin located? Hours: Seasonal; contact site manager facts associated with a domestic site. The current research raises some for information So, what does this archaeological serious questions about the cabin hav - Lincoln’s New Salem , 155588 His - site represent? The artifact scatter is ing been located within the grounds of tory Lane, Petersburg, IL 62675 reminiscent of a short-term industrial the Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park Telephone: (217) 632-4000 component, such as that which may and Memorial. Nonetheless, it seems Web site: www.illinoishistory.gov/hs/ new_salem.htm have been associated with the nearby likely that the Lincoln cabin was in Hours: Wed.-Sun. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Whitley mill, an 1840s water-powered close proximity to this location. structure. Hopefully, one day the original loca - Little is known about the exact loca - tion of this cabin will be identified.