It was as if he had died recently. An elderly woman paused before a marvelous bust of Abraham Lincoln, patted the shiny nose tenderly as so many visitors have done, and said, ”We`ll see you, old boy.” The touching scene occurred at Lincoln`s Tomb in Springfield.
Springfield, of course, is the heart of Lincoln Country. Like the woman at Lincoln`s Tomb, most visitors are moved by the Lincoln legacy in Illinois` capital in a Plain Jane prairie setting 202 miles southwest of Chicago.
Until you immerse yourself in Springfield as that woman most likely did, the tendency might be to think of Lincoln Country as a historical laundry list of places to see. The other tendency is to look at Springfield as the home of legislative buffoonery.
But the Lincoln sites in Springfield are so significant that you can feel as if you are walking in the 16th president`s footsteps, a poignant experience.
With the nation reeling from the mayhem in Los Angeles, Lincoln`s Springfield is surprisingly relevant because of the many insightful things Lincoln said there so many years ago.
In 1838, parts of the U.S. were struck by riots and public disorders related to slavery and abolition.
As a 29-year-old lawyer and legislator in Springfield, Lincoln held public law and order in high regard. In a speech, he reaffirmed:
”There is, even now, something of ill omen amongst us. I mean the increasing disregard for law which pervades the country; the growing disposition to substitute the wild and furious passions, in lieu of the sober judgment of Courts.”
In 1858, Lincoln delivered his ”House Divided” speech in what is now the Old State Capitol:
”Under the operation of that policy (to end slavery), that agitation has not only not ceased, but has constantly augmented. In my opinion it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed.
”A house divided against itself cannot stand.”
I can`t think of another state capital so connected to such a heroic president. And that`s what makes Springfield such a national treasure.
Restoration of several historic Lincoln places in Springfield and a new visitors` center at New Salem State Historic Site add to the area`s allure. New Salem is where Lincoln lived as a young man before he moved to
Springfield.
Springfield can be toured in a day, but it`s much better to spend two to see everything. The natural starting point is the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, which covers four square blocks preserved as they were in the 19th Century. The home, restored several years ago, is significant because it`s the only one Lincoln ever owned. National Park Service rangers, who conduct the tours, are extremely knowledgeable about the family. Tour tickets are free and distributed by the Visitor Center, 426 S. 7th St., on a first-come, first-served basis for specific times. The tours take 15 people every 5 minutes. The house is open daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Memorial Day and to 8 p.m. until Labor Day.
Steps away from the Visitor Center is the Lincoln Pew in the First Presbyterian Church, noted for its Tiffany windows; it is open for tours Monday through Friday from June 1 to Sept. 1.
From the Lincoln Home, it`s about a 2 1/2-block walk to the the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices at 6th and Adams Streets, where Lincoln practiced law above Seth Tinsley`s store from 1843 until he left for Washington as president-elect. The office seems as if it were recently occupied by the lanky lawyer. While Lincoln didn`t chew, smoke or drink, his sparsely decorated office contains a box of sand used as a spittoon.
The Lincoln Ledger, an original account book that shows his monthly mortgage payments and grocery bills, is on display in Bank One at 6th and Washington Streets.
The Old State Capitol, now on the downtown mall, was the Illinois statehouse from 1839 to 1876. It feels as historic as Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The Greek Revival building was dismantled in 1966 and rebuilt in 1968-69. Its rooms now appear much as they did when Lincoln walked the halls. He gave his ”House Divided” speech in the Hall of Representatives and his body lay in state in the same room after his assassination. Visitors on Fridays and Saturdays get a living-history tour called ”Mr. Lincoln`s World” conducted by costumed staff and volunteers who play the roles of people who worked in the Old State Capitol.
Lincoln Depot, actually the Great Western Depot on Monroe between 9th and 10th Streets, is a small, oft-missed museum that tells of Lincoln`s departure from Springfield and his 12-day journey to Washington to assume the presidency. It was there that Lincoln gave his Farewell Address:
”I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested on (George) Washington.”
Lincoln`s body, returned to Springfield on May 3, 1865, lies beneath a towering obelisk in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Positioned in front of the memorial atop a low pedestal is the oft-touched bust of Lincoln by Gutzon Borglum of Mt. Rushmore fame. At 7 p.m. on Tuesdays June 2 through Aug. 25 members of the 114th Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, a reactivated Civil War unit dressed in authentic uniforms, demonstrate drill movements, fire muskets and canon, play ”Taps” and the ”Battle Hymn of the Republic” and conduct a flag-lowering ceremony. The flag is presented to an audience member to take home.
The most popular Lincoln-related attraction is New Salem State Historic Site in Petersburg, 20 miles north of the capital. (New Salem had nearly 647,000 visitors last year; Lincoln`s Home, 547,662.)
Lincoln moved to New Salem, overlooking the Sangamon River, in 1831 when he was 22 and lived there until 1837. The restored pioneer village offers a look at 19th Century life through its rough-hewn buildings and interpretive programs on blacksmithing, weaving, coopering, cooking and farming during Lincoln`s day.
New Salem has a new $2.2 million visitor center with a 275-seat auditorium. Among the center`s attractions: an audio-visual show that reviews his life in New Salem; a ”time walk” detailing year-by-year events in New Salem and interactive computers with information on the Springfield area.
Another feature of New Salem is the Great American People Show, which has performed a series of outdoor dramas in summers past in Kelso Hollow, now being revamped for the summer of 1993.
GAPS, as the Champaign-based theater group is called, will perform three programs in the visitor center auditorium:
– June 19 through July 5, the show will be ”Quilters,” a Tony Award-nominated musical with an all-woman cast that records the art and lives of rural American women at the turn of the century.
– July 7 through Aug. 2, ”Your Obedient Servant, A. Lincoln,” a stirring portrayal of Lincoln`s life from birth to assassination.
– Aug. 4 through Aug. 16, there will be a series of plays, portraits of historic Americans: ”In Search of Eleanor Roosevelt” and ”Me and JFK” for four nights; ”Mr. Lincoln and the 4th of July” for four nights and then a tribute to poets, ”The Poetry of Vachel Lindsay” (born in Springfield)
performed by Nicholas Cave Lindsay, his son, and ”Sara Teasdale: A Breath of Ecstasy” for the last four nights.
Admission to the shows, performed at 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and at 4 p.m. on Sunday, is $8; $6.50 for students and senior citizens.
Visitors this spring and summer will have plenty of opportunities to steep themselves in Lincolniana and to rub his shiny nose if they wish. And Springfield is an appropriate place to reflect on Lincoln`s thoughts that remain so timely today.
For more information about Springfield and its activities, phone 800-545-7300. –
