Lincoln Home

I recently had the opportunity to visit the  historic Abraham Lincoln home in Springfield, Illinois.  The home is maintained by the National Park Service and sits within a several city block with a park setting.  The family lived here from 1844 to 1861. 

The home has been restored including historic paint colors to its 1860's appearance.

The handrail was added to assist visitors travail the steep steps up to the front door.

It is somewhat humbling to see the residence in person and walk through the front door that President Lincoln and his family called home. The small plaque on the door says "A. LINCOLN."  The original chestnut door had to be replaced recently due to wear and this replica was made from dark walnut.

A detail of the historic wood siding, windows and shutters.

This historic photo dates from 1860 and was taken by John Whipple.  Abraham Lincoln and his two youngest sons can be seen in the front yard behind the fence. (The youngest is barely peeking around the corner post.)

The house was built in 1839 as a small one and half story cottage. Mary and Abraham Lincoln purchased the residence in 1844 and moved in with their oldest son.

An exhibit across the street shows how the house changed.

In 1850, the home went through extensive renovations including adding a second story for their growing family.

First Floor

Second Floor

One of the first things I noticed upon entering the house was all of the wallpaper. 

This photo in the entryway shows the original door bell.

This is the view of the entry with a chair and hall tree.  

The hall tree was the first piece of furniture that the Lincoln's purchased for the home.

The dining room can be seen in the background.

Much of what we know about the parlor is taken from illustrations that were done at the time, like this one from March 9, 1861.

This is the front parlor. The photo on display is a drawing from the newspaper, as the public was curious to know about the Lincoln family.  The wallpaper through the house was reproduced from fragments that were found.

The curio shelf belonged to the Lincoln family and was a favorite piece of Mrs. Lincoln.

After the house was renovated and the second floor was added, the first floor rear bedroom became the rear parlor. The couch was a piece owned by the Lincolns.  The lap desk on the table is a reproduction of the original which is in a museum.  Mary gave birth to three of their children in this room.

The dining room is small and simple.  The dining room used to be part of the kitchen before the renovation when it became its own space.

The sitting room has an original stereoscope owned by the family and they also enjoyed playing checkers and chess in this room.

The sitting room was an informal family room.  Our tour guide said the Lincoln boys liked to wrestle on the floor.  This was also the room where President Lincoln said to Mary "We are elected" and a place where Mrs. Lincoln kept her sewing kit.

Our tour guide also mentioned that the family loved the company of the family dog Fido in this room.  The fireplace mantle still has the nail holes from hanging Christmas stockings.

Drawing of the sitting room for an 1861 newspaper.

I came across this rare 1860 picture of the family dog Fido online.  It was also said that President Lincoln was a lover of cats and was always bringing stray ones home for a meal.

The central stair still has it original banister.  Our tour guide said that holding the banister is as close as we will come to shaking the former president's hand.

The landing at the top of the stairs is decorated with period pieces.

The upstairs bedrooms all have operable transom windows above the doors to aid in ventilation.  All of the woodwork is painted white.

Mr. Lincoln's bedroom opens into Mrs. Lincoln's bedroom as was the custom on the day.  The wallpaper was reproduced from pieces that were found at the site and the carpet is typical for the period.  The shaving mirror belonged to Mr. Lincoln.

Lincoln's desk sits in the corner of the bedroom.  It seems pretty tiny, considering he was 

6 feet 4 inches tall.

Here is Mrs. Lincoln's bedroom.  There is a trundle bed below in case the kids wanted to sleep here.

This Victorian house did not have indoor plumbing.  

This wooden seat holds a chamber pot and belonged to Mrs. Lincoln.

Across the hall was the boy's room.  

Several of the marbles were found in the house and on the grounds during restoration.

At the end of the hall was small bedroom for the hired help. 

Our tour ended downstairs in this simple kitchen.  The kitchen used to include the dining room, but Mary had the wall built between the two rooms so that they could have family dinners around a table

The stove is original.  It was state of the art at the time.  It was said that Mrs. Lincoln did not know how to cook to when they were first married.  Mary Todd grew up in a wealthy home and she never had to cook or clean.  

The tour led us from the kitchen to the back porch and to the back yard where a lady in period costume told stories and answered questions.  Note the asymmetrical placement of the rain gutters.

At the back side of the property was an outhouse.  

This period one was relocated from a nearby site

The outhouse includes three toilets in varying sizes.