Category Archives: Illinois

Last Stop on the Lincoln Trail – Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum

  By Anne Patrone | January 25, 2011 - 9:02 am | , , , , , , ,
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Our last stop on the Lincoln Trail was the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.  The complex consists of two buildings across the street from each other in downtown Springfield, IL and we chose to visit only the museum portion since we felt it was more kid-friendly.

After paying our admission fee, we stepped into the center atrium and were immediately struck with the most obvious difference between Lincoln’s presidency and his predecessors’.  What, you might ask?

A replica of Lincoln’s Birthplace

Take a look at Lincoln’s origins – a humble log cabin.  Lincoln wasn’t the son of a wealthy landowner with a fancy education like Jefferson or Madison.  And more importantly, he wasn’t even born in one of the original thirteen colonies (like all 15 of the Presidents before him).

He was born in Kentucky less than 20 years after it became a state.  His family wasn’t wealthy and any education he acquired was through his own hard work. And yet, across the atrium, you see a mock-up of where this humble man ended up – the White House – the most powerful address in the United States.

A replica of the White House

In one glance, the boys grasped what I think was the most important lesson Lincoln’s Presidency could impart.  With education and hard work, you can rise to anything.

Having said that, we worked our way from his humble beginnings, through the Lincoln-Douglas debates to the Campaign of 1860.  I especially enjoyed how the complicated Campaign of 1860 (it was a four-way race) was explained by the late Tim Russert via a modern television news program.  I think the kids were more fascinated by Lincoln’s home life and how he was portrayed as a permissive parent.

After we finished the first part of the journey, it was on to the White House, where the first thing you encounter is a diorama of Mary Todd Lincoln getting fitted for a gown surrounded by the gowns worn by the wives of Washington’s elite.  Make your way around and you hear every catty remark these women said.

Trust me when I say that Bravo’s Real Housewives of Washington, DC have NOTHING on these b—s.  They were cruel, taunting, and vicious.  Add in the attacks on Lincoln by the press and you gain a small understanding of the incredible burden Lincoln shouldered throughout his presidency.

The Civil War exhibits – particularly my reading aloud the Gettysburg Address to my youngest – moved me to tears.

And my greatest joy?  When my oldest saw the diorama of Lincoln signing the Emancipation Proclamation and announcing “Mom, I remember seeing this scene from one of my history books.  It’s when Lincoln is freeing the slaves.”

My verdict on this last stop on the Lincoln Trail that again, did NOT make the second edition of Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up (seriously, folks, what are they thinking)?  Run, don’t walk to the Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum if you’re in Springfield, IL – you’ll be so glad you did.

Thirty-nine down, 461 to go.

Following the Lincoln Trail in Illinois

  By Anne Patrone | January 20, 2011 - 10:30 am | , , , , , , ,
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Lincoln’s Home in Springfield, IL

 Although I didn’t realize it when I planned our Memorial trip through the Midwest, visiting some of the Lincoln sites in 2009 was a great way to celebrate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth on February 12, 1809.  I also didn’t realize that by visiting the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, we would be adding a stamp to our National Parks Passport from THE ONLY NATIONAL SITE IN ILLINOIS.

Okay, there are others, but they’re historic trails that pass through several other states in addition to Illinois.

We began our “Lincoln Trail” at the only home owned by Abraham Lincoln, now part of a historic four block neighborhood where all the homes have been restored to look like they did in 1860.  We got there early enough in the day that we didn’t have to wait too long for the timed guided tour of Lincoln’s house.

The home is pretty large, even by today’s standards, and beautifully decorated inside (which was probably more Mary Todd Lincoln’s doing than Abe’s if I had to guess). 
An old-fashioned “float” advertising Lincoln for President
I think one of things that I most remember is Lincoln’s shaving mirror. They’ve positioned it on the wall at the height where Lincoln would have used it – and wow! – it’s amazing how tall the man was.  You always hear about his incredible height, but that simple shaving mirror really hammered the point home. 
Outside, we wandered around and inside some of the other restored homes for a while, but the real treasure at the Lincoln Historic Site was Lincoln’s home.  So with our National Passports stamped, we headed over (again, only a few blocks – perhaps walking the same path Lincoln took?) to our next stop on the Lincoln trail – the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices. 
Lincoln’s Law Offices Across from the State Capitol 

Run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, these offices have been recreated to look like they did when Lincoln practiced law there from 1843 to 1852.  
When we visited the first floor visitor center, we were told a guided tour (about 20 minutes) would begin shortly and would we like to wait?
We shrugged, gave a few dollars for a donation, and wandered around until the tour began.  The guide gave a nice overview, then led us up to the second floor which has been restored to look like it did when it was used as a federal court.
We took our seats and listened to the guide explain the historical significance of the room.  Five minutes, right?  Ten, max?
Federal Courtroom in Lincoln’s Law Offices
Try closer to 30 minutes.  And when we finally decided to sneak out after the millionth squirm by our boys (yes, they were quiet, but just as bored as we were), our lovely guide was still going on!
So sadly, we didn’t make it to the third floor where  Lincoln’s law offices were – we were just too hungry!!!
More about our last stop on the Lincoln Trail – the Lincoln Presidential Museum – in my next post! 

Back on Route 66 through Illinois

  By Anne Patrone | January 18, 2011 - 11:10 am | , , , ,
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Historic Route 66 in Illinois

Traveling Route 66 is a lot like going back in time to an era when things were slower and a trip wasn’t about going from Point A to Point B in the most efficient (or in other words, boring) manner.

I’ve already mentioned that hubby is a big fan of Route 66 (see my blog entry:  Getting Our Kicks on Route 66), so when we saw the signs just outside of Collinsville, IL for Historic Route 66, I knew we would again travel the “Mother Road.”

The scenery and experience is so different from Arizona.  Farms instead of Indian reservations and grassy farmland instead of desert landscapes.  But the relaxing, winding path was the same and not difficult to follow.

Our car somewhere in Illinois

In case there are any Route 66 purists out there, I’d better mention that we followed the 1926 – ’30s route, not the later post-1930 version which is little more than an access road next to Interstate 55. Our route zig-zagged back and forth through little towns like Gillespie, Carlinsville, and Chatham until we reached the outskirts of Springfield.

You might think the kids would have been upset with us for “taking the scenic route” after a long day of airplane travel and visiting not one, but TWO of the “500 sites,” but you’d be wrong.

The drive gave them a chance to unwind and talk about what they’d seen, not to mention laugh at mom for her silly Arch-phobia!  We stopped at a local restaurant instead of a fast-food chain, so they didn’t have to gulp down greasy food.  And best of all, they got to chat with some of the locals and compare baseball teams.

So hooray for Route 66 – the perfect way to slow down a vacation!  

Cahokia Mounds State Park – An Ancient Civilization in Illinois

  By Anne Patrone | January 11, 2011 - 9:30 am | , , , , , ,
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Climbing the Monks Mound at Cahokia State Historic Site

It’s hard to believe that just on the outskirts of St. Louis, MO (across the Mississippi River in Collinsville, IL) are the remains of an ancient civilization known as the Mississippians.

An ancient civilization?  In Illinois?

Yes, at the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site 

When I was planning our Memorial Day getaway to watch the Indy 500, I was also desperately scouring Frommer’s 500 Places to Take Your Kids Before They Grow Up for other attractions near the Gateway Arch that we could visit and discovered the Cahokia Mounds in the “Lost in the Mists of Time” Section.

Inside the Cahokia Mounds Interpretative Center

The more I read about these remnants of an ancient civilization (its city was larger than London back in 1250 AD), the more I wanted to visit.

It was early afternoon when we pulled up to the Cahokia Mounds Interpretative Center (a mere 8 miles away from the Gateway Arch).  We spent about an hour walking through the displays to get an understanding of what the land looked like and how people lived back in the 1200s.

In the middle of the museum there is a fabulous historical recreation of what archaeologists believe the city looked like, along with ancient ax heads they found buried in pits.

As a side note, this might be where the term “burying the ax” came from – rival groups/tribes would gather together in peace, dig a large hole, and place ax heads in the pit to signify they weren’t going to fight each other.

In any case, we drove over to the largest of the mounds – the Monks Mound and climbed it.

The views from the top were fantastic and we were able to not only see St. Louis in the distance, but also neighboring mounds (smaller, of course) where lesser nobles of the Mississippians lived.

So glad we made the detour and we “discovered” this ancient civilization in the fields of Illinois.

Thirty-eight places visited, 462 to go.