Just over ten years ago, on July 11, 2014, I visited Springfield, Illinois for the first time. For me and my photographer, it seemed great to be back, and I was anxious to take on a day full of Lincoln sites in Abe’s hometown.
When Tom’s alarm rang at 6:00am on Saturday July 27, 2024, the only thing my two companions needed to do was to get themselves ready – oh, and eat breakfast. Vicki can’t ever leave the hotel without filling her face with free food. But for the first time on the trip there was no need to pack up our stuff because we were spending the night in the same room at the same hotel, the Ramada by Wyndham Springfield North on the northside of the capital city of Illinois.
We hit the road at precisely 8:00am and arrived at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site fifteen minutes later, even though the NPS Visitor Center didn’t open until nine o’clock. The reason behind Tom’s insistence for our early arrival was so we’d have Mr. Lincoln’s neighborhood all to ourselves for a few minutes – and that’s never a bad thing.
Altogether, my photographer had ten Lincoln sites on his agenda, including our early start at Abe’s historic home. But due to a variety of reasons, we only visited four of the sites on that Saturday. One of the places we didn’t visit was the Old Capitol Building, because it was under restoration and the grounds were a complete eyesore when we drove by. The historic Lincoln-Herndon Law Office, as well as the First Presbyterian Church, which played host to Mary Lincoln’s funeral and the family pew, were both closed on Saturday. We couldn’t find parking close to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, so we bypassed that site as well. The three of us did attempt to see the historic couch where Abe sat and courted Mary Todd, but Edward’s Place, where the famous couch was located, didn’t have a tour available within our timeframe. And the last site, which was called the Funeral Train Monument, was crossed-off our list because I had posed there in 2014.
While it seemed as though we missed some pretty important sites, the three of us did visit four on our list – including Lincoln’s home, the President’s tomb in Oak Ridge Cemetery, the historic train depot where Abe delivered his ‘Farewell to Springfield’ speech in 1861, and the Illinois State Capitol Building, which featured a cool statue of our 16th President.
Instead of me rambling on and on about those sites, I’ve decided to let Tom’s images from our time in downtown Springfield do the talking for me. With that said, and without further ado, please sit back and enjoy the photos – and you’ll see where I stood in the footsteps of Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, two of my favorite Presidents.
I’m standing in the middle of Eighth Street in front of Abraham Lincoln’s Springfield home. The dark gray building across Jackson Street behind me was the Charles Arnold House, which was built in 1839 by Reverend Francis Springer, who sold the Lincoln Home to Abraham and Mary.
After Abraham Lincoln married Mary Todd in 1842, the couple purchased this house behind me in 1844 for $1,500. Abraham, Mary, and their eldest son Robert Todd moved into the home on May 2, 1844.
When the Lincolns purchased this home in 1844, the building was only one-and-a-half stories high. During the next seventeen years before Abe left for Washington D.C., his home went through five renovations and expansions, which ultimately made it a two-story residence by 1856.
During the Summer of 1860, while Lincoln was the Republican candidate for President, Boston photographer John Adams Whipple stood where this large replica camera was and captured several images of Lincoln and two of his sons outside of their home.
From my position at the corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets, it was as though I could see Abe and his two sons as they posed for Whipple.
This 1860 Whipple image shows Abraham Lincoln seated alongside his son Willie, while Tad playfully stood on the corner of the fence. One of the boy’s friends, Isaac Diller, had run across the street from his aunt’s house to get in a free picture with the Lincolns. Unfortunately, Diller turned his head at the wrong moment to look at a farm wagon and was blurred from the image. Only Diller’s feet can be seen on the sidewalk below his friend Tad Lincoln.
When Tom placed me on the Lincoln’s fence, I had the eerie feeling that Abraham, Willie, and Tad were watching me.
This enlarged Whipple image shows Abraham, Willie and Tad; as well as the feet of Isaac Diller.
I love standing in the footsteps of our Presidents, and in this image, Tom placed me on the ground where Lincoln was photographed by John Whipple in 1860.
At 9:13am, Tom, Vicki, and I went through the door behind me for a tour of the Abraham Lincoln House. Our guide was Alec, a NPS Ranger, and there were roughly 15 other people on the tour with us. Let’s go inside, shall we, and visit the only home Abraham Lincoln ever owned.
The first room we visited was Lincoln’s formal parlor, which was separated into the front and back parlor by a large wooden partition. This front parlor was where Abe’s second-born son Eddie’s funeral was held following the boy’s death on February 1, 1850. Eddie suffered for 52 days with tuberculosis and died in the first-floor bedroom, which was now the back parlor.
Some of the furnishings in the home were original to the Lincoln’s, including the ‘whatnot’ shelf against the wall. Mary used that shelf to show off some of her finer items.
When the Lincoln’s bought the house in 1844, this room was a bedroom and was where Eddie, Willie, and Tad were born; and was where Eddie passed away. After the renovation in 1856, this room was transformed into the back parlor. On May 19, 1860, Lincoln was standing near the table behind me when delegates from the Republican convention came to offer Abe the nomination for President.
Originally, the house had a large kitchen area where the family dined. This formal dining area I’m standing in was created during the 1856 renovation. The two Hitchcock-style chairs behind me, known as fancy painted chairs, belonged to the Lincolns and were used by the family during meals.
The first-floor informal parlor, or family sitting room, was where the kids played, read, or wrestled with their father. The President was a great wrestler throughout his younger years and in 1992, was elected posthumously to the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
The stereoscope on the table was purchased by Abraham Lincoln for his boys because he was known to spoil them. In the 1850s, the device cost about $18-20, which was equivalent to a laborer’s monthly wage. As the precursor to the View Master, the stereoscope was the most high-tech toy of the day.
At 6’4″ tall, Lincoln preferred to lay on the floor where he read poetry, books, or the newspaper aloud. Mary used the room to sew as she repaired socks and torn clothes for the boys and her husband. The fireplace behind me was where the family hung their stockings during Christmas, but they never had a Christmas tree.
Tom carried me upstairs where all of the family bedrooms were located after the 1856 renovation was completed. My safety-conscious photographer made sure to use the handrails, which was cool because the wooden rails were original to the house and were once used by Abraham Lincoln himself.
I’m in Abraham Lincoln’s bedroom, which was separate from his wife Mary’s bedroom and typical of the period. While the bed behind me was where Abe’s was situated in the room, the bed was not original to the Lincoln home and Mr. Lincoln did not sleep there. And that was the main reason Tom didn’t try to set me there.
The furniture in Lincoln’s bedroom, such as the chest of drawers to my left, were Abraham’s. The furniture in his bedroom were not elaborate pieces, but modest like the man himself. We were told by Alec the boots against the wall were Lincoln’s riding boots.
This pigeon-hole desk in the corner of the room was Abe’s first desk when he set up business for himself. One story we heard was when the desk was in disrepair and Lincoln had spilled ink on it, Mary threw it in the trash. Abe, not wanting to discard his favorite desk, picked it out of the trash, fixed it, and gave the treasured piece to a neighbor. You might say Abraham Lincoln was one of America’s first “pickers”.
I’m in Mary Lincoln’s bedroom at the foot of the bed which was not used by the Lincoln’s. The dresser next to the bed, however, was Mary’s. It was built in 1818 or 1820, and she brought it with her from her home in Lexington, Kentucky.
The footbath next to me was where Mary Lincoln bathed – likely once a week whether she needed it or not. And while most of the family used chamber pots or the exterior outhouse, Mary used the mahogany commode to me left where she did her business. While I stood there, I had an ugly vision of Mary Lincoln as she squatted her chubby butt down on that very commode to log out.
In 1856, this room would have been where Robert Todd slept, while his two brothers slept in a trundle bed in their mother’s room. But when Rebert went off to school, Willie and Tad shared this room from 1860 until they moved to the White House.
When we went back downstairs, the last room we saw was the kitchen. Mary purchased this $20 stove in June 1860 and it was shipped from Buffalo, New York. Mrs. Lincoln never knew how to cook before she married Abe, but she learned to be a good cook after having a family.
I’m standing on the ground where Lincoln walked, played, and did chores. The family had free-range chickens, maybe a pig or two, milk cows, and their horses. Abe loved animals; he owned a dog and had lots of cats. There were two water sources behind me that were used by the family. The one hooked up to the gutter-system featured a cistern and the water was used for cleaning. The Lincoln’s drinking water came from the well on the right side of this image.
And finally, the bathroom- or privy. The outhouse behind me came from a farmer’s home in Oakland, Illinois – the farmer was a friend of the Lincolns and Abe visited the home when he was riding the circuit. So, it’s possible Abraham Lincoln had once “logged out” in that very privy.
The Lincoln privy was a super-deluxe model with three seats of different sizes. When it came to toilet paper, the Lincolns didn’t squeeze the Charmin, but would have used leaves, rags, or corn cobs instead. When our tour was finished at roughly ten o’clock, Vicki drove the three of us to the State Capitol Building, which was located about seven blocks to the West.
At 361 feet tall, the Illinois State Capitol Building is the tallest non-skyscraper capitol in the country. Construction on this capitol finished in 1888, which was 23 years after the death of Abraham Lincoln.
I’m standing at the feet of the Abraham Lincoln statue in front of the Capitol. This statue was created by Andrew O’Connor in 1919 and symbolizes the President-elect in 1861 when he left Springfield for the final time.
In my mind, since this statue was symbolic of Lincoln’s farewell to Springfield in 1861, he should have been depicted with a beard as he began growing it in November 1860.
The building behind me was the state’s sixth Capitol Building. The fifth was the Old Capitol Building, located about four blocks away in Springfield, which was where Lincoln argued cases as a lawyer and where he delivered his famous ‘House Divided’ speech.
The ‘Illinois Welcoming the World’ statue was located in the first-floor Rotunda. Dedicated on May 16, 1895, the work of art was created by Julia M. Bracken, who likely used Lillian Russell, one of the most famous American actresses at the time, as the model for her statue.
This statue may have been welcoming the world, but it was also welcoming me to look up at the impressive oculus of the Capitol’s dome. The state seal, made of stained glass, was situated directly in the center of the oculus. When the three of us left the Capitol, we headed to the historic Lincoln Depot.
This historic brick railroad depot, known as the Great Western Depot, was built in 1852 and located two blocks northeast of Lincoln’s home. The area behind me was where President-elect Lincoln boarded a train bound for Washington D.C. for his inauguration, which was held on March 4, 1861.
On February 11, 1861, Abraham Lincoln delivered his now-famous ‘Farewell Address’ from the back of the train before it left the Great Western Depot behind me.
“My friends – No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance, I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”
In 1861, the railroad tracks were obviously closer to the depot than they were today. When Lincoln delivered his Farewell Address, it was the day before his 52nd birthday.
In 2012, the building was purchased by attorney Jon Gray Noll, who renovated the structure and moved his office to the second floor. The first floor is operated jointly by the NPS and Noll Law Office and is open to visitors – but unfortunately, not on Saturday. Now it was time to take the last train to Clarksville; or maybe the first Jeep to Oak Ridge Cemetery.
It was 12:30pm when the three of us made it to Oak Ridge Cemetery where we planned to visit the tomb of Abraham Lincoln. The 365-acre burial ground opened in 1860 and is the only public cemetery in Springfield.
When Tom carried me from the parking lot up to the tomb of our 16th President, I was shocked, disappointed, and dismayed to see the construction equipment erected around Lincoln’s final resting place. For me, it was deja vu all over again after experiencing the construction eyesores at the Mount Pulaski Courthouse the previous day.
This was my second time visiting Lincoln’s 117-foot-tall tomb – my first trip to Oak Ridge Cemetery came on July 11, 2014. Thankfully, there were no barricades or equipment around the tomb ten years ago, but I felt bad for the visitors who had traveled to see Lincoln’s tomb for the first time.
Before we went inside the tomb, Tom wanted me to stand in the footsteps of greatness. No, I wasn’t referring to Lincoln. In this image, I’m standing where Senator John F. Kennedy stood on October 24, 1959 during his first visit to Lincoln’s tomb.
During a campaign stop in Springfield, Senator John F. Kennedy was photographed at the bust of Lincoln, located in front of the Great Emancipator’s tomb. I wondered if JFK had rubbed Lincoln’s nose, because as we now know, his Presidency needed a lot of luck.
After President Kennedy placed a wreath at the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln in 1962, JFK was photographed right about where I’m standing as he walked out of the tomb with his entourage.
On October 19, 1962, President Kennedy left the tomb of Abraham Lincoln after he placed a wreath inside. It’s likely JFK had a lot on his mind that day as Soviet ships were headed towards Cuba and a nuclear war with the U.S.S.R. was imminent.
This large bust of Abraham Lincoln was one of several bronze reproductions from the original marble sculpture created in 1908 by Gutzon Borglum. This bust, along with eight other statues, were added to the tomb’s decoration when the interior of the memorial was completely revamped in 1930-31. Borglum had used an 1860 life mask, as well as photos of Lincoln, to create the bust.
While I stood on Borglum’s bust of Lincoln, it was as though I could see President Herbert Hoover during the re-dedication ceremony at the tomb on June 17, 1931.
President Herbert Hoover and Illinois Governor Louis Emmerson were photographed as they walked past the bronze bust on June 17, 1931. Hoover should have rubbed the nose and maybe the Great Depression would’ve ended sooner and saved his Presidency.
This seven-ton, reddish marble sarcophagus marks the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln. The body of our 16th President lies 30 inches behind that monument, and ten feet below the floor of the Catacomb.
On October 19, 1962, President Kennedy placed a wreath on the grave of Abraham Lincoln.
During my first visit inside the tomb on July 11, 2014, my photographer slipped under the rope barricade and placed me on the marble sarcophagus where I paid my personal tribute to President Lincoln. I thought Tom might attempt that stunt again, but a never-ending stream of visitors kept that from happening.
In my mind’s eye, I saw Senator Kennedy as he stood and admired Lincoln’s monument in 1959 and President Kennedy as he placed the wreath there in 1962.
This image of Kennedy was taken during a campaign stop to Springfield on October 24, 1959. Little did JFK know at the time, but he would meet the same fate as Lincoln in a little over four years.
Across the walkway in front of the Presidential burial chamber were the crypts of the First Lady and her three sons. Mary Todd Lincoln died on July 16, 1882 at the age of 63. Eddie passed away in the Lincoln’s home at the age of three on February 1, 1850. Willie died in the White House on February 20, 1862 at the age of 11. And on July 15, 1871, Tad died in Chicago at the age of 18.
I’m standing on one of the eight Lincoln statues on display inside the tomb. This piece, called ‘Seated Lincoln’, was created by Adolph A. Weinman and placed in the tomb during the early 1930s renovation.
When the three of us left the Lincoln Tomb, we drove around the hillside and found the Oak Ridge Public Receiving Vault which held the President’s remains from May 4, 1865 until December 21, 1865. For those seven months, Abe shared the vault with his son Willie, who had died in the White House on February 20, 1862. Behind me, on the hill above the vault, was the permanent Lincoln Tomb.
The caskets containing the bodies of Abraham Lincoln and his son Willie arrived at this temporary receiving vault on May 4, 1865.
This drawing depicted Lincoln’s coffin being carried to the Oak Ridge Receiving Vault on May 4, 1865.
My photographer took a chance and held me between the bars where I posed in the interior of the temporary vault. Had Tom accidentally dropped me, I may have spent eternity in Oak Ridge Cemetery. But I survived, and minutes later, I traveled to a couple of antique malls with my two companions.
I took a moment to pose near our Jeep parked outside The Barrel Antique Mall, located on the southside of Springfield.
Although Tom didn’t find anything to purchase in the large store, he did get a chance to look like an idiot when he replicated a drawing of Frank Zappa.
With the exception of the Lincoln sites that were closed or in disrepair, the three of us had a great day in Springfield – especially during our visit at Abe’s home. As the day’s temperature hit the mid-90s once again, Tom and Vic decided to return to our hotel where they would relax and wait for their son and his family to arrive. Tom II, Meghan, Bo, and Rory were spending the night at the same hotel as us. And while we were scheduled to leave Springfield early the following morning, the young Watson family had planned on visiting the Lincoln sites before they left town around noon on Sunday as they headed towards Kansas City.
For nearly three hours, I stood next to the TV set and watched my camera guy sleep. During that first hour, Vicki watched her influencers on Instagram until she fell asleep as well.
But at precisely 5:20pm, the solitude and tranquility of our afternoon went by the wayside when the grandkids invaded our room. Bo and Rory were in town and the entire population of Springfield would soon know it.
The six of us decided to have dinner together at a local restaurant called Top Cats, which was located only a thousand yards south of our hotel. I knew my photographer was hungry, but the Philly steak and cheese sandwich he ordered for dinner wasn’t great. As a matter of fact, I heard him tell his wife, “I thought the so-called steak should’ve been made from beef, but I think it was something else. Maybe that’s why the word ‘cats’ is in the name of the place.” The highlight of the meal was when it was over and Tom saw a decorative print hanging above our table. That print which caught his eye featured three of my photographer’s favorite singers who had died young – Buddy Holly, John Lennon, and Elvis.
When I saw this print, I thought to myself, “I like the concept, but they need to boot Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison off the stage and replace them with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper.”
Our group returned to the Ramada at seven o’clock, and for the next 90 minutes, we watched Bo and Rory as they played grab-ass with each other in the swimming pool. I had to admit, that was the longest 90 minutes I’ve ever endured. While that small indoor pool was crawling with hillbillies and dweebs, along with the rambunctious grandkids, I amused myself by envisioning Clark W. Griswold as he swam with Christie Brinkley while on his family vacation to Wally World.
When the fun was over and everyone returned to their own rooms, Tom placed me near the TV set where the two of us watched the Wokelympics for about an hour. At 10:50pm, the lights were extinguished and once again I stood alone in the darkness. Immediately after my photographer began to snore, my thoughts turned to the tomb of Abraham Lincoln we had visited earlier in the day. I couldn’t help but think about the journey Lincoln’s body made before the President could finally rest in peace.
Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on the night of April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theater. The unconscious President was carried across the street to the Petersen Boarding House where he passed away at 7:22am the following morning, April 15th.
Lincoln’s body was immediately taken to the White House where an autopsy was performed in an upstairs guest bedroom, and then it was prepared for viewing – which began in the East Room of the White House and open to the public on April 18th. The next day, Abe’s coffin was transported to the United States Capitol Building where the martyred President laid in state in the Rotunda until the morning of April 21st.
At 7:00am on April 21, 1865, the President’s coffin, as well as the coffin containing the body of his son Willie, was put on a “funeral train” where it began the long journey to Springfield, Illinois. But the train didn’t take a direct route. Instead, the train made stops in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Harrisburg, New York City, Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Michigan City, Chicago, and finally in Springfield where it arrived at 9:00am on May 3rd. It had been nineteen days since Lincoln had passed away and I had to believe his body was pretty ripe by the time it made it back to his hometown. And there was only one person to blame for the decision to parade the dead President around the country – and that was Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
For 24 hours, Lincoln’s body laid in state at the Old State Capitol Building in Springfield, where the citizens of his hometown had a final chance to say goodbye. At 10am on May 4, 1865, Lincoln was transported to Oak Ridge Cemetery where his body was placed in the public receiving vault where it remained until December 21st. On that day, Abe was buried in a temporary underground vault located just up the hill from the receiving vault – he remained there until September 19, 1871. That’s when the President was moved to a temporary crypt inside the permanent tomb, which was still under construction.
Two years after Lincoln’s Tomb was dedicated on October 15, 1874, thieves attempted but failed to steal Lincoln’s body from the tomb on November 7, 1876. Over the next twenty-five years, the casket containing the body of Abraham Lincoln was moved, hidden, stashed, buried, and at times, opened, eleven different times. Finally, on September 26, 1901, Abraham Lincoln was able to rest in peace when his coffin was permanently placed in a steel cage, and embedded in concrete, 10 feet deep under the floor of the Catacomb. During the renovations in 1931, there was no need to disturb the grave when the original white sarcophagus was replaced with the reddish marble one that I saw because the sarcophagus wasn’t directly over the gravesite.
After all of that, which completely boggled my resin mind, I was able to rest in peace myself. And like Lincoln before me, I now belonged to the ages. Okay, I belonged to my photographer, who was still snoring.
** This post is dedicated to the memory of Abraham Lincoln **
My name is Thomas Watson and I've been a U.S. history fanatic since I was 9 years old. In 2013, I decided to take my passion to the next level when I purchased a Thomas Jefferson bobble head with the sole intention of photographing that bobble head at Presidential sites. From that first day on July 10, 2013 at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio, this journey has taken on a life of its own. Now, nearly 40,000 miles later, I thought it was time to share the experiences, stories, and photos of Jefferson's travels. Keep in mind, this entire venture has been done with the deepest respect for the men who held the office as our President; no matter what their political affiliations, personal ambitions, or public scandals may have been. This blog is intended to be a true tribute to the Presidents of the United States and this story will be told Through the Eyes of Jefferson. I hope you enjoy the ride!
