Day 1: Lincoln Logs! 

 

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The tour started with the end of the Football Season! Bone joined the Spencer Clan on a cold winters night for the Super Bowl, where the Philly Eagles defensively crushed the Taylor Swift-backed KC Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, who spent much of the game on his back from the number of sacks!  The next morning, the Boys jumped into Mike's trusty Land Cruiser in the frigid cold Meechigan winters morn to head down I-196 towards I-94 and on to Texas!  Interesting thing about the Boys path is they hadda cross the Lincoln Highway which made the Boys decide to take a trip down memory lane and check out two of Honest Abe's home towns! 

The Lincoln Highway by the way, is one of the first transcontinental highways in the United States and one of the first highways designed expressly for automobile and was the first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln, for two guys on a road trip, of course Mike and Bone hadda check it out!

As the first automobile road across the United States, the Lincoln Highway brought great prosperity to the hundreds of cities, towns and villages along the way. The Lincoln Highway became affectionately known as "The Main Street Across America".  It follows the path that Old Abe followed from Kentucky, to Indiana, then on to his final home in Springfield Illinois.  It includes Lincoln’s first Illinois home in New Salem. Bone had been there and thought Mike would find it cool, so the Boys made it their first stop!

 

The New Salem Historic Site

Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. While in his twenties, the future U.S. President made his living in this village as a boatman, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, surveyor, and rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly. Walking in the brisk winter's morning air, Mike and Bone had the village to themselves to check out Abe pivotal place.

 

Old Men in New Salem!

The recreation is completely due to Honest Abe, New Salem was abandoned about 1840, as other towns like Springfield developed. After Lincoln's death in 1865, historians and biographers collected the memories, documents, and plans of the village from former residents and neighbors of Lincoln, and the site's archaeological remains were studied. In 1921, a state park opened on the village site to commemorate Lincoln and Illinois' frontier history. The Civilian Conservation Corps built a historic recreation of New Salem based on its original foundations in the 1930s, just about 15 miles from Springfield.  As the Boys walked the site they learned about its short, but important history.

 

A typical New Salem Home Owner!

New Salem was founded in 1829, when James Rutledge and John Camron built a gristmill on the Sangamon River. They surveyed and sold village lots for commercial business and homes on the ridge stretching to the west above the mill. Over the first few years of its existence, the town grew rapidly, but after the county seat was located in nearby Petersburg, the village began to shrink and by 1840, it was abandoned. The fact that the Sangamon River was not well-suited for steamboat travel was also a reason for the town's decline.

The story of Lincoln in New Salem started in 1831, when “Old Abe” was a young man of 22 when he and a couple of companions floated down the Sangamon River in a flatboat on their way to New Orleans in April of that year.

The people of New Salem first noticed Lincoln shortly after he arrived, when his flatboat became stranded on the nearby milldam. A crowd gathered to watch the group of men work to free the boat--included among them was a lanky fellow who had taken charge. Under his direction, the other crew members unloaded the cargo from the stern causing the flatboat to right itself. The tall young man then went ashore and borrowed an auger from Onstot's cooper shop, drilled a hole in the bow allowing the water to drain out, which caused the flatboat to ease over the dam.

Denton Offutt, who had hired Lincoln to man the flatboat, was impressed with Lincoln's handling of the incident, and awarded him with the offer of a clerk position in his store. However, when Lincoln returned from New Orleans, the store was not yet open, so Lincoln took a variety of other jobs, including helping to pilot a steamboat down the Sangamon River to Beardstown on the Illinois River.

Back in New Salem, Lincoln participated in his first election on August 1, 1831. He entertained bystanders during slow periods of the election. By remaining at the polls throughout the day, he met most of the men who lived in the New Salem area, the vast majority of whom would later help elect him to the Illinois State Legislature.

In April of 1832, Chief Black Hawk, leader of the Sac and Fox tribes, along with several hundred well-armed Indians, crossed the Mississippi River into Illinois, with the intention of planting corn. Their arrival caused panic among the Illinois frontier communities, and Governor Reynolds called for volunteers to drive the Indians out.

During this time, all white males between the ages of 18 and 45 were obligated to enlist in the militia and provide themselves with the proper equipment. Lincoln was still employed by Offutt when the call came out, but he saw that the store was about to fail, so he enlisted at Richland for 30 days service beginning on April 21, 1832. Each company elected its own captain.

The men in Lincoln's company were friends and neighbors from the New Salem area; they elected him Captain by a huge majority. His term of service expired on May 27, 1832, but Lincoln re-enlisted two more times totalling 51 days of service. Lincoln saw no fighting during this all this time, but he did help bury five men who had been killed and scalped at Kellogg's Grove. Lincoln was mustered out of federal service on July 10, 1832, at White River, Wisconsin Territory; he walked back to New Salem. He would always treat this service lightly, but it did provide him with a knowledge of soldiers and their lifestyles--and a small land grant in Iowa.

Lincoln returned to New Salem just two weeks before the August election, and immediately returned to campaigning for the State Legislature, which had been interrupted by the Black Hawk War. He made very few speeches, but at Pappsville, a town just west of Springfield, a large crowd asked him to speak. According to A. Y. Ellis, a New Salem merchant, Lincoln responded with the following remarks:

"Fellow citizens, I presume you all know who I am-I am humble Abraham Lincoln. I have been solicited by many friends to become a candidate for the legislature. My policies are short and sweet, like the old woman's dance. I am in favor of a National Bank, I am in favor of the Internal improvement system, and a high protective tariff. These are my sentiments and political principles. If elected I shall be thankful; and if not, it will be all the same."

Lincoln lost the election of 1832, but he gained an enthusiasm for politics that would always remain with him. There were 13 candidates in this election, and out of a total of 8,315 votes cast, Lincoln received 657 votes. Of the 300 votes cast at New Salem, Lincoln received 277.

 

Old Abe's First Commercial Enterprise!

With the election over and with no job, Lincoln looked for other opportunities. He soon found himself a merchant in his own right. In January 1833, he entered into a partnership with William F. Berry to purchase a small store. This venture didn't last long. According to Lincoln, this business simply put him deeper and deeper in debt. In April of 1833, he sold his interest in the store to Berry.

Lincoln received an appointment as Postmaster of New Salem on May 7, 1833. He retained this position until the post office was relocated to Petersburg on May 30, 1836. How Lincoln got this job, is not known for certain. According to one source, the women of New Salem were irritated when Samuel Hill, the former postmaster, spent more time serving the men whisky instead of taking care of postal duties. As postmaster, Lincoln was always willing to please customers and would go out of his way to do so.

For example, when he knew that someone was waiting for an important letter, he would walk several miles to deliver it. If he was going to survey a piece of land in the country, he would deliver the mail to the people along the route. This job was not a confining one and Lincoln supplemented his post office income with odd jobs such as splitting rails, harvesting crops, helping at the mill, and tending store in New Salem.

Towards the end of 1833, Lincoln secured employment as a deputy to John Calhoun the county surveyor. At first Lincoln didn't want the job, but after being assured that the job would not involve political commitments, he accepted it.

Lincoln's Second Attempt as a Shopkeeper!

 

When William Berry, Lincoln's former business partner, died on January 10, 1835, Lincoln was saddled with the debts of the partnership. (As late as 1848, while serving as a United States Congressman from Illinois, Lincoln was finally able to pay off what he called "the national debt.")

His formal education prior to his New Salem years was limited, but Lincoln seemed to have an early interest in legal matters. When still a young man growing up in Indiana, he borrowed a copy of the Revised Statutes of Indiana and read it with care. In 1833, he purchased a book of legal forms, and drew up mortgages, deeds, and other legal documents for his friends at no charge, and even argued minor cases. But it was at New Salem that he began studying the law in earnest, with the encouragement and advice of John T. Stuart.

Lincoln traveled the 20 miles to Springfield in order to borrow books from Stuart's law office. His diligence proved successful. On September 9, 1836, Lincoln was granted a license to practice law. On March 1, 1837, the Illinois Supreme Court awarded him a certificate of admission to the bar. He had begun the career that he would follow for the remainder of his life; he was no longer "a floating piece of driftwood," as he once referred to himself.

 

The end of the Village

After the Illinois State Legislature adjourned on March 6, 1837, Lincoln returned to the fading village of New Salem. He saw no future there for either legal work or wider political opportunities. Springfield, on the other hand, offered both. He was well known there, and he enjoyed increasing popularity because of his efforts to move the state capital from Vandalia to Springfield. On April 15, 1837, on a borrowed horse, with everything he owned in two saddlebags, Lincoln moved to Springfield, the place he would call home for the next 24 years of his life. After a chilly un-interupted hour on their own, Mike and Bone followed Lincoln to Springfield!

 

Springfield!! The Home of Abe, Not Homer!!

Walking in for a tour, Mike and Bone noticed how well cared for the home was and the National Park Docent told the Boys that the Lincoln Home has been completely restored to its 1860 appearance. She told the Boys that Lincoln moved to Springfield from New Salem in 1837, at the start of his law career. He met his wife, Mary Todd, at her sister's home in Springfield and married there in 1842.

 

Abe and Mary's Parlour

The historic-site house at 413 South Eighth Street at the corner of Jackson Street, bought by Lincoln and his wife in 1844, was the only home that Lincoln ever owned. Three of their children were born there and one, Eddie, died there. The house contains twelve rooms spread over two floors. During the time he lived here, Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives in 1846, and elected President in 1860.

 

The Lincoln Living Room

 

Old Abe's little desk!

 

The Lincoln's VERY fancy Stove!

Lincoln's son, Robert Todd Lincoln, donated the family home to the State of Illinois in 1887 under the condition that it would forever be well maintained and open to the public at no charge. This came as a result of tenants who would charge those who wanted to visit Lincoln's home and that many tenants tended to leave the home in disrepair. The home and Lincoln Tomb, also in Springfield, were designated National Historic Landmarks on December 19, 1960, and automatically listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966. The home and adjacent district became a National Historic Site on August 18, 1971 and is owned and administered by the National Park Service. After the tour, the Boys headed south on iconic Route 66, which made Bone hungry for ...... yep you guessed it! Hot Dogs!!!

 

The Cozy Dog Sequel!

When Mike and Bone went on their iconic Route 66 tour they stopped at the only Hot Dog Program shop with corn dogs, Cozy Dog! While Mike wasn't hungry, Bone got hisself one corn dog and one chili dog (for juxaposition!), which he slurped down for old times sake, and the Boys hit the road for St Louie!

The next few hours Mike made amazing time. The shot through southern Illinois and across the mighty Mississippi in fine time, the shot through the Gateway to the West, St Louis and were well into the Ozarks as Winter's early evening hit the Boys, as they rolled past Rolla on Interstate 44, they started to plot their landing for the night with the primary purpose for pizza!

 

We are .... Marshfield Pizza!

Marshfield, Missouri met the bill for a place to crash with a clean Holiday Inn Express right by the freeway entrance. The Boys did once quick circle of the downtown which was completely shutdown by 7:30 except for a local pizza place by the Hotel.  Post Game Pizza would probably be buzzing with high school kids on a fall friday, but on a winters monday , it was completely empty, so the three kids working the pizza conveyor belt were falling over themselves helping Mike and Bone! It gave them something to do! Ordering two pies and some chicken wings. The Servers came out 4-5 times to make sure the Boys loved their food, which was ... well high school ok. The chicken wings were not so good, but the pies, 7 outta 10, not bad. Wishing the staff adieu, Mike and Bone called it a night and got ready for the next day of adventure!