Springfield, IL Area Guide

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Springfield, IL

The capital city of Illinois, Springfield, was formerly located on the famous Route 66 but now is accessed by Interstate 55. The only house ever owned by Lincoln was purchased in 1844, and it is located in what is now the historic district of the city. In 1971, the two-story home of 12 rooms, along with its community, were together made a National Historic Site. In that same year, President Lincoln's tomb and house were designated as National Historic Landmarks. They are now owned and administered by the National Park Service and are most interesting to visit.

A four-block area around Lincoln's home has also been preserved. Several restored houses give tourists and residents a feel for the way the neighborhood looked when Lincoln and his family lived in Springfield. Not far from Lincoln's home is the Old State Capitol where Abraham Lincoln served as a State Legislator. The building also contained Lincoln's and his partner William Herndon's law offices from 1844 to 1852. In this same area was the Springfield Depot, a depot that Lincoln left for his 1862 inauguration as President of the United States. There are quaint, authentic places to lodge, provided a person is well under six feet tall because there are low ceilings in some of them. Specialty shops and a large antique mall with vintage collectibles, era jewelry, clothing, glassware, dinnerware, furniture and more are sold at such places as the Barrel Antique Mall. A trip to these historic areas of Springfield is truly a trip back in time.

Among the other interesting sites to visit in Springfield is the extensive Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library. After having opened in 2005 in downtown Springfield, this museum has been visited more than any other presidential library. Interestingly, the library contains not only reference books from the state's historical library of 1889, but it now has theater presentations and dramatizations and inter-active experiences that lend a sense of present-time reality to the tourists. It is also a profound experience to read original documents of history such as the Gettysburg Address, the Emancipation Proclamation, especially since they were stored in a vault for years. With its many documents and manuscripts dating back to the 1700s, this extensive library has classrooms, and it also acts as a reference and research facility. For instance, there are original copies of Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author whom Mr. Lincoln teased when he met her as being "the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." There is also the tragic record of a terrible race riot in 1908. The riot proved that racism existed in the North as well as in the South, and it served to initiate the creation of the NAACP.

As the "Capital Township," Springfield is the center of Illinois government with the Illinois Supreme Court, the Illinois General Assembly and the Office of the Governor of Illinois all located in this city. It is not surprising that government jobs determine Springfield's economy since they account for so much of the city's workforce. Unlike cities in the northern part of the state, the cost of living in Springfield is 9% lower than the national average and 7% lower than the average in Illinois. Many senior living apartments have reasonable rents and provide opportunities for socialization. And, for visitors, there are intriguing places to stay. One is Flagg Farmstead Bed and Breakfast, an 1872 Italianate mansion only minutes from the Lincoln museum.