The history of people and places has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl in elementary school. I can remember going to the library as a third grader at Berryville Elementary and always heading straight to the shelf that held the biographies. In fact, I can still picture in my mind where that shelf was located. I couldn’t wait to get a new book each week. I read about amazing people like Amelia Earhart, Orville and Wilbur Wright, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Clara Barton……and Abraham Lincoln. I’ve continued that love of biographies and history through the years. I think I get some of that interest from my parents. Daddy enjoyed visiting historic sites and learning the significance of people and places. Mother is a reader – and she enjoys learning of the contributions and relevance of others. Whatever the reasons, I really enjoy digging into history to explore and learn new things. I believe there is so much value in learning where we came from, knowing the challenges and accomplishments of those who went before us, and recognizing the impact of others on our world today.
One week ago today, while heading from Nashville to just outside Cincinnati, I turned off the highway to detour through Hodgenville, Kentucky. Only a few miles off I-65, Hodgenville has a population of just over 3,000 people. Each year, this little town in rural Kentucky gets around 250,000 visitors from all over the world…because it is the birthplace of a man of great and long-lasting impact on the world, President Abraham Lincoln. If you’re ever in that area, I highly recommend taking a detour to spend a couple of hours seeing all the little town has to offer. The address of the birthplace is 2995 Lincoln Farm Road – but don’t bother writing it down. If you can find Hodgenville, you can find the birthplace!
President Lincoln was born just outside Hodgenville in February of 1809 – twenty-seven years before the town was officially incorporated. “Sinking Springs Farm”, the President’s birthplace, is a United States National Historic Park. Even on a chilly Sunday in March, several people were there visiting the site. We couldn’t all speak the same language verbally, but we were affably united in our admiration of the 16th President of the United States as we moved around the grounds. I remember a story Clay Cooper, a Branson, MO entertainer, told on his show. He and his wife Tina visited the Lincoln Memorial in Washington several years ago, and Mr. Cooper talked about how he noticed all of the different languages being spoken by the people around him as they walked up to view the monument. It really emphasized for him the far-reaching influence of President Lincoln that so many people from so many backgrounds and countries chose to visit the Memorial and pay honor. It was the same for me last week in Kentucky.
The cabin where President Lincoln was born is long gone. A replica cabin was built in same spot where the original cabin sat. A large stone memorial building has been built around that cabin. It’s really impressive and beautiful to see on the hillside above the spring. President Theodore Roosevelt traveled to Kentucky to officially lay the cornerstone for this building on the 100th anniversary of President Lincoln’s birth in 1909. Two years later, in 1911, President Taft visited Hodgenville to give the dedication speech at the completed memorial. (The Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. didn’t open until 1922 making this the “First National Lincoln Memorial”.) Since then, President Franklin Roosevelt and President Eisenhower have also visited the site.
We started at the visitor center. There are beautiful displays showing information about Lincoln’s life, his family, inspirational quotes from the President, and examples of life during the early 1800’s.
A walnut table built by President Lincoln’s father, Thomas Lincoln, is on display. It was beautifully made!
The Lincoln family Bible was also in the visitor center. I thought that was a treasure!
Despite being cold, it was a beautiful day. There is a nice board sidewalk from the visitor center to the memorial. It was a pleasant walk through the woods. It’s going to be really beautiful there in a few weeks when everything buds out. They keep the grounds very well-tended!
The Memorial building and the Replica Cabin sit on top of a hill above the old Sinking Spring. I worked to get pictures without others in them – so it looks as if it was not busy that day. Actually, there were several people there milling about the grounds. Everyone was quiet, polite, and friendly. It was a very pleasant atmosphere.
After the birthplace, it is a less than a 10-minute drive to the Knob Hill farm where the Lincoln family lived from the time Abraham was 2½ until he was almost 8. In 1860, President Lincoln wrote, “My earliest recollection is of the Knob Hill place.”
During the summer, the National Park Service has crops and farm demonstrations available. This time of year, it’s just a pretty spot to see. Informational markers are located around the grounds to read and imagine what life must have been like. President Lincoln’s baby brother, Thomas, was born at the Knob Hill Farm. He died shortly after birth and was buried with a simple marker made by his father to denote the grave. That marker is now on display at the Birthplace Visitor Center and a new marker has been donated at the gravesite.
According to the informational markers, Abraham Lincoln once almost drowned in Knob Creek. He and his boyhood friend, Austin Gollaher, were crossing the creek on a log footbridge when Abraham slipped and fell. Neither boy could swim, and the water was deep. Thinking fast, Austin Gollaher quickly pushed a long stick out for Abraham to grab so that Austin could pull him to safety.
Driving back into Hodgenville, it was too late to go to the Lincoln museum. It closes early! There are two impressive statues of President Lincoln that sit in the center of the city square. The first shows the President as a little boy. I loved it that he is posed reading books!
The pose of the second statue reminded me of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. Even though it is located on a city square with traffic, this may have been one of my favorite parts of the visit to Hodgenville. This statue was dedicated in 1909 and has stately sat on the Hodgenville square for 110 years. President Lincoln’s son, Robert, attended the dedication ceremony to honor his father.
Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address are engraved on the city square. It was nice to stop and remember the courage and significance of this man, to reflect on his simple beginnings and his powerful impact on the world then and now. According to the information at the Birthplace Visitor Center, President Lincoln had less than three years of formal schooling in his lifetime. Even so, he served as a lawyer, a legislator, and one of the most remembered and respected Presidents of the United States. Most importantly, President Lincoln emancipated the slaves and preserved the Union during the U.S. Civil War. Only 56 years old at the time of his assassination, President Lincoln’s life is inspirational to many and his impact long-lasting and far-reaching.
I really enjoyed my afternoon in Hodgenville. It was a beautiful and relaxing place to spend some time. More than that, it was nice to stop and think about the great contributions of President Lincoln that are still affecting us today. There was an article online that I read after visiting the Knob Hill Farm. It was talking about the afternoon that Abraham Lincoln nearly drowned as a young boy – and speculating how things could be different today had President Lincoln never lived until adulthood. It made me wonder what potential lies in all of us to have a lasting effect on the world around us in a positive way.
More information:
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park: https://www.nps.gov/abli/index.htm
Abraham Lincoln biography at History.com: https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln
Gettysburg Address: http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/gettysburg/good_cause/transcript.htm
Second Inaugural Address: https://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=false&doc=38&page=transcript
Emancipation Proclamation: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html
Interesting article about Lincoln’s near drowning – https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3549859/abraham_lincoln_saved_from_drowning_by/
Always great stuff that leaves me with something to think about.
That is my goal! 🙂 I am learning as I go! I appreciate the encouragement so much, Susan!
I love Lincoln history. This sounds like a great place to visit – thanks for the info!
Thank you for reading, Gayla! I really love Lincoln history, too. It really was a great place to visit. Hope you can get up that way sometime. I think it will be SO much prettier in just a few weeks! Everything was just getting ready to pop last weekend!
Very interesting. I’m glad Lincoln’s friend saved him from drowning!
So am I, Betty! It’s sort of like the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life”….thinking how things would be different (even today) if President Lincoln hasn’t lived to adulthood!
I suspect many of us think we know a lot about President Lincoln. Your blog is a great reminder that there is always more to learn! Also, it is good to think about choices, events, etc. that shape not only our lives but history!
Thank you, Kay! I think you’re right! I think our potential to affect others positively is stronger than most of us know!