Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Lincoln's home at 8th and Jackson Streets is the centrepiece of a four-block historic district maintained by the National Park Service. The house has been restored to its 1860 appearance — the last year the family lived here before the presidency — with period furnishings, many of them original. Guided tours run throughout the day from the visitor centre on 426 South 7th Street; tickets are free but timed-entry passes are required and can fill up in summer.

The surrounding neighbourhood has been carefully preserved, with several adjacent houses also open to visitors and interpretive displays explaining daily life in 1860s Springfield. The two-block walk from the Lincoln Home to the Old State Capitol takes you past the Lincoln-Herndon Law Offices, where Lincoln practiced law for sixteen years.

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A story
Lincoln bought this house in 1844 for $1,500 — the only home he ever owned — and expanded it twice as his family and law practice grew. His youngest son, Tad, was born here. On the February morning in 1861 when Lincoln left for Washington and the presidency, a neighbour recalled him standing at the gate, looking back at the house with an expression of sadness. He never returned. The house was donated to the federal government in 1887 by Robert Todd Lincoln, the only surviving son, who reportedly never spoke about his father's assassination.