Illinois Travel Guide 2009 - (Page 9) Next see the Lincoln Depot, where Lincoln departed by train for Washington as the deeply divided country’s new president. Lincoln’s many friends and associates came to the depot that day to bid him goodbye, prompting a moving farewell speech. Pay your respects at the monumental Lincoln Tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery. Lincoln and his wife Mary had both attended the dedication of Oak Ridge Cemetery and were impressed by its from Indiana in the 1830s. In New Salem, Lincoln worked at various jobs, including store clerk and postmaster, before he was elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834. Today you’ll find interpreters dressed in frontier garb portraying pioneers going about their daily chores. From mid-June through August, catch an outdoor show at New Salem’s Theatre in the Park. The town of Lincoln was christened with the juice of a watermelon by Abe himself, and holds the distinction of being the only town named for Lincoln before he became president. While riding the Eighth Judicial Circuit, Lincoln argued many cases at the town’s Postville Courthouse. The rugged twostory log building was replicated in 1953 and today showcases exhibits that illustrate the typical activities of a mid-1800s beauty. After his assassination, Mary insisted her husband be buried here. The tomb, designed by famed sculptor Larkin Mead, contains the remains of the entire Lincoln family except for their son Robert (their only child to reach adulthood), who was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington. Lincoln actually had to be reburied here in 1901, encased in concrete 10 feet below the ground, in order to ward off grave robbers. Be sure to rub the nose of the bronze Lincoln bust at the entrance to the tomb, which is said to bring good luck. Travel to Petersburg, about 20 miles from Springfield, to experience Lincoln’s New Salem. This village of 23 replica timber shops and homes (the only original building is the Cooper Shop) recreates the town where a young Lincoln settled when he moved 800/2CONNECT Top to Bottom: A replica of the Postville Courthouse where Lincoln argued cases, rub Lincoln’s nose for luck in front of the Lincoln Tomb, a statue of Lincoln as a young man, the frontier town of Lincoln’s New Salem ILLINOIS. MILE AFTER MAGNIFICENT MILE. 9 RICHARD CUMMINS
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