Tag: american-history

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Springfield, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

When it comes to the President of the United States of America and the railroad, many of them have used the railroad.  If you were asked which president is most associated with the railroad, most people would probably think about Abraham Lincoln.  He would have been the first President to have a Presidential Railroad Car, kind of like the Air Force One of the railroad, but that car became his funeral car after he was assassinated carrying his remains from Washington D.C. to his final resting place in Springfield, Illinois.  Even though he was born in the U.S. state of Kentucky, Springfield, the state capital of the U.S. state of Illinois was where he was launched into the political spotlight.  It is here where the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located.  A visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is a place that you must see if you wish to see the entire story of Abraham Lincoln.

Some of you are saying, “This is nice.  Abraham Lincoln was a great man.  In matter of fact, he is known to be one of the greatest Americans of all time and one of the greatest men in history.  I always enjoyed the fact that he is associated with the railroad more than any other American president, but as for the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, this is not a railroad museum, a railroad site, or has anything to do with the railroad, I will not be booking a visit to this place.”

As mentioned, Abraham Lincoln was associated with the railroad more than any other U.S. President.  You are right when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is not a railroad museum, and you are right when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is not a railroad site, but you are wrong when you say that the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum has nothing to do with the railroad.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum consists of the library.  It is called the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  It also consists of the museum.  The museum has different exhibits, but two of the main exhibits are about his life before his presidency and the other is about his time in the White House, not the white house that is in your neighborhood but the one in Washington D.C. that is the home of the sitting President of the United States of America.

As you walk through the White House exhibit, you see displays of his time during the American Civil War, the life in the White House, the cabinet meetings, and the assassination at Ford’s Theater.  The exhibit ends with a display of the route of his Funeral Train.  The route started in Washington D.C.  It continued to Baltimore in the U.S. state of Maryland and to Harrisburg, the capital of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania.  The train then went east to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and then went up to New York City in the U.S. state of New York.  It went north to Albany, the state capital of New York and then went west to Buffalo, New York.  It continued to Cleveland in the U.S. state of Ohio and then went to the Ohio state capital of Columbus.  It went west to Indianapolis, the state capital of Indiana, and then it went north to the city of Chicago, Illinois before going to the last stop in Springfield.  The Funeral Train went in the reverse route of the way he went to Washington D.C. to serve as the sixteenth President of the United States of America.

Yes, Abraham Lincoln had great ties with the railroad, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum commemorates that tie.  Along with his ties to the railroad, there are many more reasons to visit the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located at 212 North Sixth Street at the intersection of Jefferson Street (Illinois Route 97).  Please note that the museum does not have its own parking.  It is either street parking or parking at a parking facility.  The great news is that the museum is wheelchair accessible.  You can get information on the hours and admission at https://presidentlincoln.illinois.gov/.

In the U.S. state of Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, in the state capital of Springfield, you will find a museum that tells the story of the sixteenth President of the United States of America.  You will be disappointed if you do not visit.

The Lincoln Depot, Springfield, Illinois

by jbcowgill, posted in Uncategorized

The U.S. state of Illinois is commonly known as the ‘Land of Lincoln’.  Even though Abraham Lincoln, the sixteenth President of the United States of America, was not born in the state, (born in Kentucky) he spent much of his public life here as a lawyer and a politician.  In Springfield, the state capital of Illinois, you can visit and tour his home that is owned and operated by the National Park Service.  It is also where he is buried along with his wife and son in a tomb in a cemetery on the northwestern area of the city.  He is one of the most honored politicians in U.S. history, but when it comes to the railroad, most people would associate him with the railroad more than any other president.  Without Air Force One, the railroad was the fastest mode of travel in his day.

This brings us to an old train station in the capital city that is known as the Lincoln Depot.  Originally called the Great Western Depot, it was originally built in 1852, and it was repaired in 1857 after a fire destroyed parts of the station.  It was here on February 11, 1861, where Abraham Lincoln made what would be his final speech in the capital city before he departed on a train for another capital city, Washington D.C., to begin his life as the President of the United States of America.

Around 1900, passenger and freight service ceased.  The depot when through many ownerships before it was bought by a local group in 1960 to preserve the depot, and it was eventually made into a museum.  There was another fire in 1968.  (Arson was suspected but not proven.)  The museum was closed in 1977, but it was reopened as a museum in 1980 when a new owner took over.  The museum was closed in 2011, and it was sold again to be a law office, but the lawyer was a descendant of Abraham Lincoln’s law partner.  In 2014, it was a museum again, and it remains a museum today.

Today, the Lincoln Depot in Springfield, Illinois in on the National Register of Historical Places.  The trains that pass by the station are freight trains from the Norfolk Southern Railway.  (Amtrak service is in the center of the city just blocks from the State Capitol.)  It is open Monday to Friday from 10:00am to 4:00pm.  Please note that only the first floor is open to the public, and admission is free.  It is also wheelchair accessible.  The museum does not have its own parking.  There is metered parking on the street or you can park at a parking garage.  You can get more information on the depot at https://www.lincolndepot.org/.  On the website, you read Abraham Lincoln’s farewell speech, read more into the history of the train depot including a timeline, and see photos of the depot.

When in Illinois, visit the capital city of Springfield.  Visit an old train depot where the journey of a man on his way to a house called the White House, began.