Exciting Ways to Make Lincoln’s Life Come Alive
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Are there Abraham Lincoln enthusiasts in your family? Perhaps you simply want to know what is interesting about Springfield, Illinois? Or maybe you’re wondering what is there to do in Springfield, Illinois? I’m so glad you asked! No matter what the case, a trip to Springfield, Illinois has you covered. Here, you’ll find many exciting ways to make Lincoln’s history come alive right before your very eyes. And the good news? It doesn’t require a lot of time to make it happen. Our family fit a ton of Lincoln’s history into two days. Read on to find out how.
Two Days to Make Lincoln’s History Come Alive
Two days? Two days? Maybe you’re wondering how anyone can accomplish all that it seems that Lincoln entails in just two days. I’ll admit, I was a little worried that two days wouldn’t be enough time to adequately learn about Lincoln when we started planning this trip. However, I soon learned that it was plenty of time.
The nice thing about Springfield, Illinois is that almost all of the Lincoln sites are within walking distance of one another. So you don’t have to waste time sitting in traffic and driving from one location to another. You can either stay in a hotel nearby, or park in one of the many parking garages and walk to your destinations.
Day 1 Itinerary
Since we live only a few hours drive from Springfield, we chose to get up in the morning and drive over. We planned our arrival time so that we would get into town as businesses were just beginning to open. The nice thing about Springfield, is that unlike some other state capitals, it is not giant with bumper to bumper traffic. The only thing that might make this town a little tricky is that it has lots of one way streets. Even then, it was not bad at all.
Stop 1: The Visitor’s Center
We started our visit with a trip to the Visitor’s Center which is located at the Lincoln-Herndon Law Office. The ladies working at this office provided us with a map of downtown Springfield, and they were great at answering any questions we had.
What made this building really fascinating, is that it’s where Abraham Lincoln worked. The actual office area where he worked was located upstairs, and it was closed for refurbishment at the time of our visit, but they did have a display downstairs to show what his office might have looked like. I’d love to go back and revisit once they’re done refurbishing the upstairs.
Stop 2: The Old State Capitol
After we finished up at the visitor’s center, we took a short walk over to the Old State Capitol. If you’re a history buff (and even if you’re not), you’ll find this place fascinating! It was here that Lincoln gave his famous “A House Divided” speech in the Hall of Representatives. You can also view the law library where Lincoln studied, and visit the Supreme Court where Lincoln tried several hundred cases as an attorney. My favorite place was the Hall of Representatives where Lincoln lay in state on May 3 & 4, 1865. You can take a quick online tour here, but there is nothing like being in the exact place where so much history occurred. It gave me chills!
Where Lincoln was lying in State
Stop 3: The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
Now that we’d seen how Lincoln got his start, we decided to dive deeper into his life. To do that, we headed over to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I highly recommend buying your tickets online. Doing so allowed us to walk right in. This museum is packed full of immersive displays about slavery and the Civil War. There were some real Lincoln artifacts on display, but not nearly as many as I was hoping for. We left the museum with a more thorough understanding of who Lincoln was as a complete person, and we learned why he made some of the decisions he did.
Stop 4: Union Station & Union Square Park
Union Station sits directly across the street from the museum. We took a quick walk over to visit the outside of it because it is currently closed to the public. Many parts of this building are still original-the bricks, window frames, trim, and exterior doors. Union Square Park sits right next to it. It’s a beautiful park to walk through with many pergolas and statues of Abraham Lincoln. Many free events are also held here throughout the year, but there was nothing on the particular days we went.
Stop 5: The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
Since our family had never visited a Presidential Library before, we were excited to make a stop at this one. The guards working the front desk were extremely nice and helpful. We were directed to exhibits that were open to the public, but unless you have an appointment to do research, you can only view things to do with Lincoln that are open to the public. I know it’s probably common at all Presidential Libraries, but I was really hoping more items would be on display since they house so many Abraham Lincoln artifacts. We did get to see an original signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, so that was pretty cool!
Stop 6: Dinner! Cozy Dog Drive In
All of that walking around had us starving, so we decided to head back to the hotel, hop in the car, and make our way to the Cozy Dog Drive In. It’s located along historic Route 66, and it’s known as the home of the original hot dog on a stick. I know, you’re probably thinking, “What’s the big deal? It’s a corn dog, and I can get those anytime.” But you’re wrong! It looks like a corn dog, but it doesn’t taste like one. And I have to tell you, it’s good! The staff working inside were super friendly. The inside isn’t fancy, but it’s decorated with Route 66 memorabilia and souvenirs that you can purchase. We had lots of fun looking around while we waited for our food.
Stop 7: Shopping
After dinner, we took a drive down historic Route 66. We stopped at some antique stores, and then we found a store called Scheels. If you have a sports lover in your family, then this store is a MUST! They have ALL THE THINGS SPORTS you could ever want. Besides sports things, they have a large section of toys, clothing, home goods, a candy shop, interactive games to play, and even an indoor ferris wheel to ride! It was a great way to walk off dinner and pass the time.
Let’s Call It A Day
After our incredibly busy day, we headed back to the hotel for the night. We stayed at the Presidential Abraham Lincoln Springfield because of it’s location within walking distance of everything. However, I would definitely pick a different hotel next time. It served our purpose for this particular trip, but there are other hotels in the area, and driving in Springfield is not bad (and that comes from someone who doesn’t like to drive).
Day 2 Itinerary: Abraham Lincoln’s Home and His Tomb
Abraham Lincoln’s Home
The focus of our second day was getting even more up close and personal with Abraham Lincoln, and to do that, we planned a tour of his home. You must have a free ticket to tour his home, and to get one, you have to head to the Visitor’s Center. It’s a super easy process, but I had read that tickets to his home run out really fast, so we made this our first stop of the day. You can read all about how amazing his home tour was right here. I can’t wait to go back and do it again someday!
Abraham Lincoln’s Tomb
Our last stop of the day was at Oak Ridge Cemetery to visit the tomb of Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and three of their four sons. Lincoln’s first burial site sits just at the base of the hill behind his current tomb, so be sure to stop and visit it to learn why his body had to be moved to his current resting place.
Both places are free to visit, and Lincoln’s tomb is open daily from 9 a.m.-4:45 p.m. There is a bronze bust of Mr. Lincoln located at the entrance of the tomb. It’s said to be good luck if you stop and rub his nose, so of course, we had to do that! It was sombering to stand at the tomb of a man who did such great things in his life, and whose tragic end affected not only his family, but an entire nation.
Final Thoughts
This experience brought his story and our trip to a close. Our family got some great hands on history lessons on this two day trip that definitely beats anything we could’ve gotten from a book. This period of history came alive for our kids, and it allowed us to have some great discussions with them. So, if you’re not sure what to do on your next adventure, take a couple of days and head over to Springfield, Illinois. You’ll be glad you did!
