Illinois Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 13) Nine,” successfully lobbied to move it to Springfield. At one time the Federal-style Vandalia Statehouse contained all three branches of state government, and was the first place where Lincoln spoke out against slavery in the House of Representatives. The elegant statehouse was built by city residents in 1836 in an unsuccessful last-ditch effort to keep the state capital in Vandalia and is the oldest surviving capitol building in Illinois. Take a picture with Abe himself in Lincoln Park across the town square, where a statue of Lincoln resting on a bench with the regal Vandalia Statehouse in the background makes for a great shot. LINCOLN TRIVIA 10 fast facts about Honest Abe 1) Abraham Lincoln was the first president to have a beard while in office, growing it at the suggestion of a precocious 11-year-old girl who wrote him a letter. 2) Lincoln was the tallest president, standing 6’4”. 3) Abe carried important letters, bills and notes in his signature stovepipe hat. 4) As a presidential candidate, Lincoln was known as the “Railsplitter,” a reference to the days when as a youth he made fence rails by splitting poles with an axe. 5) Abe was an engaging storyteller and jokester. 6) Lincoln was a fan of writer-poet Edgar Allan Poe. 7) Lincoln received a patent in 1849 for a system he designed to adjust the buoyancy of steamboats. 8) Mary Todd Lincoln hosted séances in the White House, which the president attended. 9) Lincoln related to his wife and friends a dream he had three days before his death about being assassinated. He was the first U.S. president to be assassinated. 10) The Lincoln penny was issued in 1909 to commemorate Abe’s 100th birthday and was the first American coin to bear a president’s image on its face. COURTESY OF CHICAGO HISTORY MUSEUM 800/2CONNECT ILLINOIS. MILE AFTER MAGNIFICENT MILE. 13 http://www.chicagohistory.org http://www.chicagohistory.org http://www.enjoyillinois.com
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