A day late with this small set of photos, but anyway, enjoy.

 

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Spencer County, Indiana

 

A National Park Service Property, the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial, preserves the site where Abraham Lincoln lived from ages 7 to 21 (1816 - 1830). Lincoln's father moved the family to Indiana from Kentucky because Indiana's system of maintaining property records better protected small landowners from fraud and encroachment. The recreation of the Thomas Lincoln farmstead is staffed by historic interpreters during summer tourism season.

 

 

Note the rain gutters and downspouts fashioned from split and hollowed-out saplings, that collected roof runoff in rain barrels. Wood ashes were saved in the V=shaped wooden hopper, and rainwater was poured through them to leach out the alkali (potash) that was used along with tallow from butchering to make soap.

 

Note the dearth of windows. Considering that almost everything you see here was fashioned by the farmer and his family from materials at hand, not much time was spent indoors during daylight. Window glass was frighteningly expensive then; it had to come from Cincinnati by wagon, and even a single small pane cost more than a day's wages for a laborer, let alone for a small farmer for whom mere survival was a full-time job, and a tenuous one at that.

 

 

 

 

The above photos are from the  Indiana Road Trip -2002 set at Urbanindiana.com.

Great shots...I didn't know the site existed.

Interesting.  We take so much for granted these days.

Thanks!

Thank you!  It seems to me this Indiana period in Linclons life is really neglected, but they were formative years....

The memorial really is enjoyable, especially in nice weather. The semicircular limestone building was built by the State of Indiana in 1940 and houses offices, historic/educational display materials, and meeting rooms. It hasn't been changed much since it was built, and the interior is finished in dark wood. As I recall, it has a pleasant aroma from that.

 

From there to the homestead is about a quarter-mile walk along a path through the woods. Although physically not far from a road and a railroad, the homestead is set in a way that makes it seem really isolated. The whole memorial is executed in a respectfully understated manner. I suppose it would be better known if it had more tourist-trap hoopla, but I like it the way it is.

If I recall right this is near Jasper so a nice road trip from Louisville.  Ive been wanting to explore west in Indiana (toward New Harmony & Vincennes) so this would be a good stop on the itenerary.

If I recall right this is near Jasper so a nice road trip from Louisville. Ive been wanting to explore west in Indiana (toward New Harmony & Vincennes) so this would be a good stop on the itenerary.

 

That was part of my itinerary en route to some of the same places. While you're in that part of the state, Corydon is worth a look-around, too. New Harmony took me two days of meandering and browsing around; in addition to the historic settlement, there's stuff to see in today's town. At Vincennes, the Grouseland tour (William Henry Harrison's home) cost $5, but it was well worth it. It's a remarkable place; people with money lived quite well in the early 1800s, compared with the spare existence of Abraham Lincoln's family.

Thanks for sharing. I've become more and more interested in the Lincoln childhood and growth up to his presidency, evident in my following of the Lincoln Trail. I've yet to go to the Lincoln Boyhood N.M., but it is on my list for this year!