Cruisin' Illinois: The Land of Lincoln

Julian Crews
Reporter

April 26, 2007

With rising gas prices, a lot of folks are looking for short getaways this vacation season. Which is why we're loading up the car to see what we can find, a day's drive from Chicago. In our new series 'Cruisin' Illinois' we send the "crews"…Our own Julian Crews to explore the 'Land of Lincoln.'

Set the compass south along 1-55 for a three-and-a-half-hour cruise over wide-open prairies and you reach the state capitol, the very heartbeat of Illinois. A spirit you can see and feel.

Historic Springfield, freshly revitalized, is drawing new visitors with a world-class attraction: The $90 million Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum.

"If only we could meet them for a moment but we can't."

"Abe Lincoln was a master story teller. His stories were filled with wisdom, humor."

"With emancipation, you will decimate the army of the Potomac. I am fighting to preserve. And now is not the time."

"It's life," says Rita McCray, Chicago visitor. "What I mean by that is we're re-living it like it was. All the sound effects, graphics, awesome!"

"It was wonderful. Very wonderful. Really beautiful," says Larry Orth, a visitor from Minnesota.

"I think it really helps to have so much to grab your attention. So many objects to look at. So it's easier for younger kids too, " says Macai Orth.

You can see what Lincoln's Indiana cabin looked like, where he lived as a boy. Or touch his face as president, with a cast taken months before his assassination.

The war between the states, the reality of slavery, it's all here to absorb you, like you've never felt it before.

Lincoln is alive across the capitol, with people looking for him and retracing his steps. But to find his earliest roots in Illinois, hop in the car for a scenic 20-minute drive to New Salem.

Lincoln landed here, in 1831 as a young man, running a general store with his partner. It was a different world back then, in this 19th century outpost. And you can live it, as you step into a rare piece of history. The actual log building where Lincoln spent hours sitting by the firelight, reading and thinking about the future.

"He was self-taught. He had a tremendous desire for education. And an unbelievable capacity to retain things," says Charles Starling, New Salem interpreter.

The journey takes you back to Springfield and the Old State Capitol. Behind the 168-year-old limestone columns of this majestic building, Lincoln worked to realize the American dream of self-fulfillment, rising from a life on the frontier to a career in law.

"There were many transformations in Lincoln's life that are connected to this building. Socially, he rises into the new middle class somewhat through using the resources of the state library, which was located on the ground floor of this building," says Justin Blandford.

Children love to hear the amazing story, and budget-conscious families can take the capitol tour standing over the spot where Lincoln gave his famous "House Divided" speech all for a suggested donation of $2 for adults and $1 for kids.

Success helped Lincoln buy a home and raise his family here. You can visit the Lincoln house, today a national historic site, free of charge. You'll see the famous stovepipe hat, the parlor where Lincoln wrestled with his boys, enjoying the life of a devoted family man.

To take a walk through this historic 12-acre site is to step back into time, nearly 150 years ago. Springfield in 1860. The year before Lincoln left for Washington.

Years later, the fallen president returned to Springfield on a funeral train. Hundreds of thousands honor his memory every year by visiting the Lincoln tomb. It's open every day through October. Walk through the solemn passageway, underneath the granite monument and you'll come face-to-face with history. Abraham Lincoln buried next to the body of Mary Todd Lincoln and three-of-the four boys. People travel from all over the world to pay homage.

And it'll lift you as well, when you touch the very 'Heart of Illinois.'