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Lincoln Home National Historic SiteAn artist's illustration of the Lincoln Home-circa 1860
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Lincoln Home National Historic Site
Lincoln's Homes

Kentucky

1809-1811

Type: log cabin

Location: Sinking Spring, near Hodgenville

Description: one-room, sixteen by eighteen feet, dirt floor, no glass windows

Occupation: None


1811-1816

Type: log cabin

Location: on Knob Creek

Description: one-room, dirt floor, no glass windows

Occupation: helped father with farmwork


Indiana

1816 - Spring, 1830

Type: log house

Location: Southern Indiana

Description: one-room, sleeping loft reached by pegs in the wall, first dirt floor later wooden floor, no glass windows

Occupation: helped father with farmwork

  • Lincoln's mother, Nancy Hanks, dies of milk sickness on October 5, 1818
  • Lincoln's father, Thomas Lincoln, marries Sarah Bush Johnston on December 2, 1819

Illinois

March 15, 1830 - March, 1831

Type: log house

Location: near Decatur, Illinois

Occupation: helped father with farmwork


July, 1831 - April 15, 1837

Type: lived in several log houses

Location: New Salem, Illinois

Occupations: postmaster, clerk, surveyor, store keeper, Illinois state legislator

  • Lincoln begins studying law
  • In 1832, Lincoln is defeated in his first attempt to run for the Illinois State Legislature
  • In 1834, Lincoln is elected to the Illinois State Legislature
  • In 1836, Lincoln is re-elected to the Illinois State Legislature

1837-1841

Type: two-story wooden building

Location: Springfield, Illinois, at corner of Fifth and Adams Street

Description: Joshua Speed's general store

Occupation: lawyer, Illinois state legislator

  • In 1838, Lincoln is elected to the Illinois State Legislature for the third time
  • In 1840, Lincoln is elected to the Illinois State Legislature for the fourth time

1841-1842

Type: wooden building

Location: Springfield, Illinois, location uncertain

Description: William Butler's home

Occupation: lawyer

  • Courts and becomes engaged to Mary Todd during 1842

November, 1842 - 1843

Type: two-story wooden inn

Location: Springfield, Illinois, on Adams Street

Description: Globe Tavern

Occupation: lawyer

  • Robert Todd, their first son, is born on August 1, 1843

1843-1844

Type: wooden cottage

Location: Springfield, Illinois, on Fourth Street

Occupation: lawyer


1844-1861

Type: purchased as a one-and-a-half story cottage with six rooms; enlarged in 1855-56 to two stories with twelve rooms

Description: wooden structure, carpeted in several rooms, first and only home he ever owned

Location: Springfield, Illinois, corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets

Occupation: lawyer

  • Eddie (March 10, 1846), Willie (December 21, 1850), and Tad (April 4, 1853) are born in this house
  • August 4, 1846, Lincoln is elected to the United States House of Representatives
  • Eddie dies on February 1, 1850 at the age of 3 years, ten months
  • On November 2, 1858, Stephen A. Douglas defeats Lincoln for the United States Senate
  • May 18, 1860, the Republican National Convention in Chicago nominates Lincoln for the presidency
  • November 6, 1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected president
  • February 11, 1861 Lincoln departs Springfield, Illinois for Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

1847-1849

Type: two-story house

Location: Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill

Description: Ann G. Sprigg's boardinghouse

Occupation: United States Congressman from Illinois


1861-1865

Type: multiple story stone house

Location: Washington, D.C., on Pennsylvania Avenue

Description: The White House, thirty-one rooms, carpeted

Occupation: President of the United States

  • On February 20, 1862, Willie dies in the White House at the age of eleven


Summers 1862, 1863, 1864

Type: two-story brick house

Location: Washington, D.C., four miles north of the Capitol

Description: Soldiers Home, also known as the Riggs House (renamed Anderson Cottage in 1888), twelve rooms

Occupation: President of the United States

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Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant  

Did You Know?
On April 2, 1865, two days after Confederate forces were driven out of Richmond by the forces of Ulysses S. Grant, President Abraham Lincoln came to tour the city that had symbolized the rebellion. Lincoln came to Richmond not as a triumphant victor, but seeking peace.

Last Updated: September 06, 2007 at 17:23 EST