"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." An emotional Abraham Lincoln opened his farewell remarks to the citizens of Springfield, Illinois with these words on February 11, 1861. Lincoln was leaving his friends and neighbors of twenty-four years, and the home that he and his family had lived in for seventeen years, to serve as president of a nation on the verge of Civil War.

The Lincoln home, the centerpiece of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, has been restored to its 1860s appearance, revealing Lincoln as husband, father, politician, and President-elect. It stands in the midst of a four block historic neighborhood which the National Park Service is restoring so that the neighborhood, like the house, will appear much as Lincoln would have remembered it.

 Directions 

Car - Interstate 55 provides north-south access to Springfield:

Visitors heading south on I-55 should use exit 98B at Clear Lake Avenue. Proceed west toward downtown and turn left on Seventh St. The Visitor Center is located five blocks south on the left side of Seventh Street. The visitor parking lot is past the Visitor Center on the left. Visitors traveling north on I-55 should use exit 92A at Sixth Street, which is Business I-55, and proceed about four miles north to downtown. Turn right on Capitol Avenue and right again on Seventh Street. The Visitor Center is located on the left side of Seventh Street.

Interstate 72 provides east-west access to Springfield:

Visitors traveling west will exit onto Clear Lake Avenue, proceed west toward downtown and turn left on Seventh Street. The Visitor Center is located five blocks on the left side of Seventh Street. Visitors traveling east should use exit 97B at Sixth Street (Business I-55) and proceed north toward downtown. Turn right on Capitol Avenue