Bob and I felt we had learned about all we wanted to know about Abraham Lincoln, but one of the campers we met told us we had to go to
Lincoln's New Salem Historical Site. So off we went again. This time we headed out of Springfield, IL to south of Petersburg about 20 miles NW. New Salem is a reconstruction of the village where Abraham Lincoln spent his early adulthood. The six years Lincoln spent in New Salem formed a turning point in his career. Although he never owned a home here. Lincoln was engaged in a variety of activities while he was at New Salem. He clerked in a store, split rails, enlisted in the Black Hawk War, served as postmaster and deputy surveyor, failed in business, and was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834 and 1836 after an unsuccessful try in 1832.
This was a lovely park like setting and one of the first days we enjoyed walking through a park, as the weather had finally cooled.
We walked through the park and down many stairs and crossed the main highway via a covered bridge to get down to this mill. One of the guest who lived in the area told us they used to have boats that you could take a ride on the river, but the river was way to low for that when we were there.
More pictures tomorrow, as I can't send any pictures from my Iphone as AT&T doesn't have service here. After visiting her we stopped at a roadside Farmer's Market and came home with delicious sweet corn, summer squash and tomatoes.
Pictures as promised:
I thought this was a wishing well, but Bob told me that's how they got their water. I know about wells but I thought they had pumps by then. Pretty though!
This was a lumber mill that was run by oxen. They were put on what we would call a treadmill, like in the gym, and they walk, and walk, and walk.
This lady was weaving cloth on an old loom. She was a talker, but very interesting. We heard from her and the docent at the Dana-Lawrence House, how many cuts the state parks have had to take. Sounds like home.
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