• Education,  History

    By the way, did you know?

    In the summer of 1826, Abraham went down to the Ohio River at a point where Anderson Creek emptied into the mighty river. He would often be in the area during the summer months. Opportunities for gainful employment was the business at hand but Abe was always amazed at the volume of river traffic. He observed vessels of all types and sizes, strings of flatboats, houseboats, ark like vessels, small craft, and large and small steamboats. He came up with the idea of a small startup business. Abraham from the age of 6 years had been using an ax to clear land, split rails and chop cord wood. For over a…

  • Education,  History,  Middle Sangamon

    By the way, did you know?

    By Jim Farris In this new monthly blog post produced by the Friends of Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park and Memorial to share little or unknown facts about Abraham Lincoln, his family and his activities while living in Macon County in Illinois.  These short facts will be sent out the first day of each month. In 1915, fifty years after President Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, the Illinois General Assembly authorized the State Historical Library to mark the route traveled by the Thomas Lincoln Family from their homestead in Indiana to the place where they would settle in Illinois. It would be another 50 years before the trail opened in 1963. Thousands of markers…