**SECOND ANNUAL ABRAHAM LINCOLN BICENTENNIALPUBLIC SPEAKING CONTEST**

**Resource Material Guide**

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ABRAHAM LINCOLN BIRTHPLACE

NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK

2995 LINCOLN FARM ROAD

HODGENVILLE, KY 42748

270-358-3137

Lincoln's Time Line

**1637** - Samuel Lincoln from Hingham, England settles in Hingham,
Massachusetts.

**1778** - Thomas Lincoln (Abraham\'s father), descendant of Samuel, is
born in Virginia.

**1782** - Thomas and family move to Kentucky.

**1786** - Thomas\' father is killed by Native Americans.

**1806** - Thomas marries Nancy Hanks. A daughter, Sarah is born eight
months later.

**1808** - Thomas buys a farm called Sinking Spring near Hodgenville,
Kentucky.

**1809** - Abraham Lincoln is born February 12 in a one room log cabin
on the Sinking Spring Farm in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.

**1811** - In Spring, the Lincoln family moves to a 230 acre farm on
Knob Creek ten miles from Sinking Spring.

**1812** - A brother, Thomas, is born but dies in infancy.

**1815 -**Young Abraham attends a log school house. Teacher: Zachariah
Riney.

**1816** - Briefly attends school. Teacher: Caleb Hazel. In December,
the Lincoln family crosses the Ohio River and settles in the backwoods
of Indiana.

**1817** - In February, Abraham, age 7, shoots a wild turkey but suffers
great remorse and never hunts game again.

**1818** - Young Abraham is kicked in the head by a horse and for a
brief time is thought to be dead. Oct. 5, Nancy Hanks Lincoln (his
mother) dies of \"milk sickness.\"

**1819** - On Dec. 2, Abraham\'s father, Thomas, marries a widow, Sarah
Bush Johnston, and becomes stepfather to her three children. Abraham
develops much affection for his stepmother.

**1820** - Briefly attends school.

**1822** - Attends school for a few months.

**1824** - Does plowing and planting and work for hire for neighbors. A
Lincoln attends school in the fall and winter. Borrows books and reads
whenever possible.

**1826** -- Sister Sarah marries Aaron Grigsby.

**1828** - On Jan. 20, his married sister Sarah dies while giving birth.
In April, Abraham, now 19, and Allen Gentry take a flatboat of cargo of
farm produce to New Orleans. During the trip they fight off a robbery
attack by seven black men. At New Orleans Abe observes a slave auction.

**1830** - In March, Abe and his family begin a 200 mile journey to move
to Illinois where they settle on unclear land along the Sangamon River,
near Decatur. Abe makes his first political speech in favor of improving
navigation on the Sangamon River.

**1831** - Abe makes a second flatboat trip to New Orleans. His father
moves again, but Abe doesn\'t go and instead settles in New Salem,
Illinois, where he works as a clerk in the village store and sleeps in
the back. Wrestles a man named Jack Armstrong to a draw. Learns basic
math, reads Shakespeare and Robert Burns and participates in a local
debating society.

**1832** - In March, becomes a candidate for Illinois General Assembly.
The Black Hawk War breaks out. In April, Abe enlists and is elected
Captain of his rifle company. Re-enlists as a private after company is
disbanded. He serves a total of three months but does not fight in a
battle. August 6, loses the election. The village store he worked in
goes out of business. Lincoln and partner, William Berry, purchase
another village store in New Salem.

**1833** - The store fails, leaving him badly in debt. Lincoln is
appointed Postmaster of New Salem. In autumn, Lincoln is appointed
Deputy County Surveyor.

**1834** - On August 4, Lincoln, age 24, is elected to the Illinois
General Assembly as a member of the Whig party. Begins to study law. In
December, meets Stephen A. Douglas, 21, a Democrat.

**1835** - In January, former store partner William Berry dies,
increasing Lincoln\'s debt to \$1000. On August 25, Ann Rutledge,
Lincoln\'s love interest, dies from fever at age 22.

**1836** - August 1, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly and by now
is a leader of the Whig party. September 9, Lincoln receives his law
license. Begins courtship of Mary Owens. Has an episode of severe
depression in December.

**1837** - Helps to get the Illinois state capital moved from Vandalia
to Springfield. April 15, leaves New Salem and settles in Springfield.
Becomes a law partner of John T. Stuart. In Summer, proposes marriage to
Mary Owens, is turned down and the courtship ends.

**1838** - Helps to successfully defend Henry Truett in a famous murder
case. August 6, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly, becoming Whig
floor leader.

**1839** - Travels through nine counties in central and eastern Illinois
as a lawyer on the 8th Judicial Circuit. December 3, admitted to
practice in United States Circuit Court. Meets Mary Todd, 21, at a
dance.

**1840** - In June, Lincoln argues his first case before the Illinois
Supreme Court. August 3, re-elected to the Illinois Gen. Assembly. In
fall, becomes engaged to Mary Todd.

**1841** - January 1, breaks off engagement with Mary Todd. Has episode
of depression. March 1, forms new law partnership with Stephen T. Logan.
In August, makes a trip by steamboat to Kentucky and sees twelve slaves
chained together.

**1842** - Does not seek re-election to the legislature. In summer,
resumes courtship with Mary Todd. In September, accepts a challenge to a
duel by Democratic state auditor James Shields over published letters
making fun of Shields. September 22, duel with swords is averted by an
explanation of letters. November 4, marries Mary Todd in Springfield.

**1843** - Lincoln is unsuccessful in try for the Whig nomination for
U.S. Congress. August 1, first child, Robert Todd Lincoln, is born.

**1844** - May, the Lincoln family moves into a house in Springfield,
bought for \$1500. Campaigns for Henry Clay in the presidential
election. In December, dissolves law partnership with Logan, and then
sets up his own practice.

**1846** - March 10, a son, Edward Baker Lincoln is born. May 1,
nominated to be the Whig candidate for U.S. Congress. August 3, elected
to the U.S. House of Representatives.

**1847** - Moves into a boarding house in Washington, D.C. with his wife
and sons. December 6, takes his seat when Thirtieth Congress convenes.
December 22, presents resolutions questioning President Polk about U.S.
hostilities with Mexico.

**1848** - January 22, gives a speech on floor of the House against
President Polk\'s war policy regarding Mexico. In June, attends the
national Whig convention supporting General Zachary Taylor as the
nominee for president. Campaigns for Taylor in Maryland and in Boston,
then in Illinois.

**1849** - March 7 and 8, makes an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court
regarding the Illinois statute of limitations, but is unsuccessful.
March 31, returns to Springfield and leaves politics to practice law. On
May 22, Abraham Lincoln is granted [U.S. Patent No.
6,469](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/patent.htm) (the only
president ever granted a patent).

**1850** - February 1, his son Edward dies after a two month illness.
Lincoln resumes his travels in the 8th Judicial Circuit covering over
400 miles in 14 counties in Illinois. \'Honest Abe\' gains a reputation
as an outstanding lawyer. December 21, his third son, William Wallace
Lincoln (Willie) is born.

**1851** - January 17, Lincoln\'s father dies.

**1853** - April 4, his fourth son, Thomas (Tad) is born.

**1854** - Re-enters politics opposing the [Kansas-Nebraska
Act](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/kansas.htm). Elected to
Illinois legislature but declines the seat in order to try to become
U.S. Senator.

**1855** - Does not get chosen by the Illinois legislature to be U.S.
Senator.

**1856** - May 29, helps organize the new Republican party of Illinois.
At the first Republican convention Lincoln gets 110 votes for the
vice-presidential nomination, bringing him national attention. Campaigns
in Illinois for Republican presidential candidate, John C. Fremont.

**1857** - June 26, in Springfield, Lincoln speaks against the [Dred
Scott decision.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/dred.htm)

**1858** - In May, wins acquittal in a murder trial by using an almanac
regarding the height of the moon to discredit a witness. June 16,
nominated to be the Republican senator from Illinois, opposing Democrat
[Stephen A.
Douglas](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/doug.jpg). Gives
[\"House Divided\"
speech](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/divided.htm) at the state
convention in Springfield. Also engages Douglas in a series of seven
debates with large audiences.

**1859** - Illinois legislature chooses Douglas for the U.S. Senate over
Lincoln by a vote of 54 to 46. In the fall, Lincoln makes his last trip
through the 8th Judicial Circuit. December 20, writes a short
[autobiography.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/autobi-1.htm)

**1860** - March 6, delivers an impassioned political [speech on
slavery](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/haven.htm) in New Haven,
Connecticut. Also in March, the \'Lincoln-Douglas Debates\' published.

**1860 -** May 18**,** nominated to be the Republican candidate for
President of the United States. Opposes Northern Democrat Stephen A.
Douglas and Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge. In June, writes a
[longer
autobiography.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/autobi-2.htm)
November 6, Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16^th^ President and the
first Republican President to hold that office. Receives 180 of 303
possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote. Dec 20,
South Carolina secedes from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana and Texas follows within two months.

**1861 -** Feb 11, Lincoln gives a brief
[farewell](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/farewell.htm) to friends
and supporters at Springfield and leaves by train for Washington.
Receives a warning during the trip about a possible assassination
attempt in Baltimore, Maryland.

**March 4, 1861** - Inauguration ceremonies in Washington. President
Lincoln delivers his First Inaugural Address. At 4:30 a.m. Confederates
open fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston. The Civil War begins.

**April 15, 1861** - President Lincoln issues a [Proclamation Calling
Militia and Convening
Congress.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/proc-1.htm)

**April 17, 1861** - Virginia secedes from the Union. Followed within
five weeks by North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas, thus forming an
eleven state Confederacy.

**April 19, 1861** - The president issues a [Proclamation of
Blockade](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/proc-2.htm) against
Southern ports.

**April 27, 1861** - The president authorizes the suspension of the Writ
of Habeas Corpus.

**June 3, 1861** - Political rival Stephen A. Douglas dies unexpectedly
of acute rheumatism.

**July 21, 1861** - The Union suffers a defeat at [Bull
Run](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/bullrun.jpg) in
northern Virginia. Union troops fall back to Washington. The president
realizes the war will be long.

**July 27, 1861** - Appoints George B.
[McClellan](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/mclell.jpg) as
commander of the Department of the Potomac.

**Aug 6, 1861** - Signs a law freeing slaves being used by the
Confederates in their war effort.

**Aug 12, 1861** - The president issues a [Proclamation of a National
Day of Fasting.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/proc-3.htm)

**Sept 11, 1861** - Revokes Gen. John C. Fremont's unauthorized military
proclamation of emancipation in Missouri.

**Oct 24, 1861** - Relieves Gen. Fremont of his command and replaces him
with Gen. David Hunter.

**Nov 1, 1861** - Appoints McClellan as commander of the Union army
after the resignation of Winfield
[Scott](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/scott.jpg).

**Jan 27, 1862** - Issues [General War Order No.
1](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/order-1.htm) calling for a Union
advance to begin Feb 22.

**Feb 3, 1862** - Writes a [message to
McClellan](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lett-1.htm) on a
difference of opinion regarding military plans.

**Feb 20, 1862** - The president\'s son Willie dies at age 11. The
[president\'s
wife](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/marytodd2.jpg), Mary
Todd Lincoln, is emotionally devastated and never fully recovers.

**March 11, 1862** - President Lincoln relieves McClellan as
general-in-chief and takes direct command of the Union armies.

**April 6, 1862** - Confederate surprise attack on Gen. Ulysses S.
[Grant](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/grant3.jpg)\'s
troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River results in a bitter struggle
with 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates. The
president is then pressured to relieve Grant but resists.

**April 9, 1862** - Writes a [message to
McClellan](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lett-2.htm) urging him to
attack.

**April 16, 1862** - Signs an Act abolishing slavery in the District of
Columbia.

**May 20, 1862** - Approves the Federal Homestead Law giving 160 acres
of publicly owned land to anyone who will claim and then work the
property for 5 years. Thousands then cross the Mississippi to tame the
\'Wild West.\'

**June 19, 1862** - Approves a Law prohibiting slavery in the
territories.

**Aug 29/30, 1862** - Union defeat at the second Battle of Bull Run in
northern Virginia. The Union Army retreats to Washington. The president
then relieves Union commander Gen. John
[Pope.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/pope.jpg)

**Sept 17, 1862** - General Robert E.
[Lee](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/lee.jpg) and the
Confederate armies are stopped at
[Antietam](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/antietam.jpg) in
Maryland by McClellan and numerically superior Union forces. By
nightfall, 26,000 men are dead, wounded or missing - the bloodiest day
in U.S. military history.

**Sept 22, 1862** - President Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation
Proclamation freeing the slaves.

**Nov 5, 1862** - The president names Ambrose E.
[Burnside](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/burnside.jpg) as
commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing McClellan.

**Dec 13, 1862** - Army of the Potomac suffers a costly defeat at
Fredericksburg in Virginia with a loss of 12,653 men. Confederate losses
are 5,309.

**Dec 22, 1862** - The president writes a [brief
message](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lett-3.htm) to the Army of
the Potomac.

**Dec 31, 1862** - The president signs a bill admitting West Virginia to
the Union.

**Jan 1, 1863** - President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation
Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates.

**Jan 25, 1863** - The president appoints Joseph (Fighting Joe)
[Hooker](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/hooker2.jpg) as
commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Burnside.

**Jan 29, 1863** - Gen. Grant is placed in command of the Army of the
West, with orders to capture Vicksburg.

**Feb 25, 1863** - Signs a Bill creating a national banking system.

**March 3, 1863** - Signs an Act introducing military conscription.

**May 1-4, 1863** - A Union defeat at the Battle of Chancellorsville in
Virginia. Confederate Gen. Stonewall
[Jackson](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/stonewall.jpg) is
mortally wounded. Hooker retreats. Union losses are 17,000 killed,
wounded and missing; Confederate losses are 13, 000.

**June 28, 1863** - The president appoints George G.
[Meade](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/meade.jpg) as
commander of the Army of the Potomac, replacing Hooker.

**July 3, 1863** - Confederate defeat at the [Battle of
Gettysburg.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/battle.htm)

**July 4, 1863** - Vicksburg, the last Confederate stronghold on the
Mississippi, is captured by Gen. Grant and the Army of the West.

**July 13, 1863** -- Lincoln writes a [message to
Grant.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lett-5.htm)

**July 14, 1863** - Writes an undelivered [letter to
Meade](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lett-6.htm) complaining about
his failure to capture Lee.

**July 30, 1863** - Issues an [Order of
Retaliation.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/retal.htm)

**Aug 8, 1863** - Writes a letter to his wife regarding Tad\'s lost
goat.

**Aug 10, 1863** - The president meets with abolitionist [Frederick
Douglass](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/fred-doug.jpg) who
pushes for full equality for Union \'Negro troops.\'

**Sept 19/20, 1863** - Union defeat at Chickamauga in Georgia leaves
Chattanooga, Tennessee under Confederate siege. The president appoints
Gen. Grant to command all operations in the western theater.

**Oct 3, 1863** - Issues a [Proclamation of
Thanksgiving.](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/thanks.htm)

**Nov 19, 1863** - President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at
a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a national cemetery.

**Dec 8, 1863** - The president issues a Proclamation of Amnesty and
Reconstruction for restoration of the Union.

**March 12, 1864** - President Lincoln appoints Grant as
general-in-chief of all the Federal armies. William T.
[Sherman](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/sherman2.jpg)
succeeds Grant as commander in the West.

**June 3, 1864** - A costly mistake by
[Grant](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/grant2.jpg) results
in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during an offensive against
entrenched Rebels at Cold Harbor, Virginia.

**June 8, 1864** - Abraham Lincoln is nominated for president by a
coalition of Republicans and War Democrats.

**July 18, 1864** - Issues a call for 500,000 Volunteers for military
service.

**Aug 31, 1864** - Makes a speech to the 148^th^ Ohio Regiment.

**Sept 2, 1864** - Atlanta is captured by
[Sherman](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/sherman.jpg)\'s
army. Later, the president on advice from Grant approves Sherman\'s
march to the sea.

**Oct 19, 1864** - A decisive Union victory by Gen. Philip H.
[Sheridan](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/sheridan.jpg) in
the Shenandoah Valley.

**Nov 8, 1864** - Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating
Democrat George B. McClellan. Lincoln gets 212 of 233 electoral votes
and 55 percent of the popular vote.

**Dec 20, 1864** - Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a
path of destruction 60 miles wide all the way from Atlanta.

**March 4, 1865** - Inauguration ceremonies in Washington. President
Lincoln delivers his second Inaugural Address.

**March 17, 1865** - A kidnap plot by John Wilkes Booth fails when
Lincoln fails to arrive as expected at the Soldiers\' Home.

**April 9, 1865** - Gen. Robert E.
[Lee](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/lincpix/lee2.jpg) surrenders
his Confederate army to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at the village of
Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

**April 10, 1865** - Celebrations break out in Washington.

**April 11, 1865** - President Lincoln makes his [last public
speech](http://www.historyplace.com/lincoln/reconst.htm), which focuses
on the problems of reconstruction. The United States flag \'Stars and
Stripes\' is raised over Fort Sumter.

**April 14, 1865** - Lincoln and his wife Mary see the play \"Our
American Cousin\" at Ford\'s Theater. About 10:13 p.m., during the third
act of the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head.
Doctors attend to the president in the theater then move him to a house
across the street. He never regains consciousness.

**April 15, 1865** - President Abraham Lincoln dies at 7:22 in the
morning.

**April 26, 1865** - John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco
barn in Virginia.

**May 4, 1865** - Abraham Lincoln is laid to rest in Oak Ridge Cemetery,
outside Springfield, Illinois.

**Dec 6, 1865** - The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution, passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally
ratified. Slavery is abolished.

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height="3.5256944444444445in"}

**Through the Cumberland Gap**

The boy who would grow up to be the 16^th^ President of the United
States was named for his paternal grandfather, Captain Abraham Lincoln,
a true pioneer and good friend of Daniel Boone. In 1782 Captain Abraham
Lincoln brought his family through the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky
which was still part of Virginia. Kentucky entered the union as the
15^th^ state in 1792.

In 1786, shortly after settling in this new land, Captain Abraham
Lincoln was shot by an Indian. This was a defining event in young Thomas
Lincoln's life. At the time of his father's death, Mordecai Lincoln, the
oldest son, inherited his father's entire estate, leaving Thomas and his
older brother to fend for themselves. There is no indication that Thomas
Lincoln ever resented his brother's good fortune or spent much time
brooding over his fate. After his father's death, Thomas moved with his
mother to Washington County.

Nancy Hanks was also born in Virginia, the daughter of Lucy Shipley and
James Hanks. When Nancy's father died her mother moved with other family
members to Kentucky. Eventually, Nancy went to live in Washington County
and was a neighbor of Thomas Lincoln. On June 12, 1806 Nancy Hanks and
Thomas Lincoln were married near Springfield, Kentucky.

**Thomas and Nancy Lincoln Settle on Sinking Spring Farm**

After their wedding, Nancy and Thomas moved to Elizabethtown near his
carpenter shop and in the vicinity of the Mill Creek Farm which he had
purchased in 1803. In February of 1807 a daughter, Sarah, was born.
Thomas Lincoln was known and respected as a steady worker, and his
dedication paid off by 1808, when he and Nancy purchased the Sinking
Spring Farm for \$200 cash from Isaac Bush.

With Nancy expecting her second child, the Lincoln family moved into a
cabin somewhere in the vicinity of a knoll by the Sinking Spring, a
reliable source of fresh water where Abraham Lincoln probably took his
first drink.

The Lincolns had chosen well and had every reason to expect a prosperous
future. Although they moved into a one room cabin probably no more than
16 by 20 feet with only one window and one door, they would have brought
with them items from Elizabethtown that made the new home comfortable.
They still owned a farm in Elizabethtown and Thomas' skills as a
carpenter would guarantee any furniture items the family wanted. Nancy
was reputed to be a talented spinner who could spin and weave clothing
for her husband and young children.

Thomas, like other settlers in the area would have planted corns, beans,
squash, and pumpkins. He probably had a few head of livestock. This
young family had every reason to rejoice upon the prospects of their
future when a son, Abraham, named for his paternal grandfather, was born
February 12, 1809.

**Legal Problems with the Sinking Spring Farm**

In 1786 a large track of land which included the Sinking Spring Farm was
purchased by Richard Mather, a land speculator from New York. He later
began to sell tracts of this land to settlers coming into Kentucky.
David Vance bought the 300 acre Sinking Spring Farm in 1805 with an
agreement that Mather would hold a lien on the land until the entire sum
was paid in full. In the same year Vance signed the bond over to Isaac
Bush, who then signed it over to Thomas Lincoln. When no one paid the
debt, Mather brought suit against Vance, Bush, and the Lincolns. Vance
had disappeared, leaving Isaac Bush and Thomas Lincoln to answer for the
bill. After a lengthy court battle the court decided in favor of Mather
and the land was offered for sale by auction.

Historians question why Thomas Lincoln and his family did not move back
to Elizabethtown where they owned the Mill Creek Farm instead of leasing
land in the Knob Creek Valley. It is possible the title for the
Elizabethtown property was also in question. Deputy surveyors using less
than perfect techniques, possessing poor math skills, and using trees,
rocks, and creeks as survey markers contributed to the problems with
obtaining clear title to land. Land surveys were sent to a land office
in Richmond, Virginia, but problems with mail delivery meant many claims
could not be substantiated. It was common in Kentucky for those who
purchased property in good faith to later find they did not have a clear
title to their land.

**The Lincoln Farm Association**

Local and national efforts to commemorate Lincoln in Kentucky lagged
behind endeavors taken by New York, Illinois and in Washington, D.C.
Popular feelings toward Lincoln, during and immediately after the Civil
War were mixed in Kentucky. In 1861 when the Union flag flew over the
Kentucky state capitol many southern supporters, including the governor,
left the state.

As the Centennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth approached, interest in his
birthplace grew, especially the interest of a few entrepreneurs. In
1894, Alfred W. Dennett, who planned to build a hotel and park on the
historic spot, bought the Sinking Spring Farm from Richard Creal.
Dennett purchased a cabin from John Davenport and erected it near the
Sinking Spring in November 1895. Efforts to bring people to this remote
location failed. In 1897 Dennett dismantled the cabin and took it on
tour. Eventually, the logs were put into storage in College Point, Long
Island. When Dennett went bankrupt, 110 acres of the Sinking Spring Farm
were purchased in 1906 at public auction for \$3,600 by Richard Lloyd
Jones, an editor for *Collier's Weekly*. On April 18, 1906 the Lincoln
Farm Association was incorporated. The twenty eight members of the Board
of Trustees agreed to raise money by voluntary subscription for the
purpose of honoring and perpetuating the memory of Abraham Lincoln by
erecting a Memorial Building to house and preserve the log cabin where
he was born.

**The Memorial Building**

The Lincoln Farm Association envisioned a two-story museum with an
avenue of trees leading to the entrance, and selected architect John
Russell Pope to design the Memorial Building which was to house
Lincoln's birthplace cabin. A central court and a copy of the August
Saint-Gaudens' famous Lincoln statue were proposed. Funds fell short of
the anticipated goals however, and Pope's plans for the birthplace cabin
to be placed in a central court with a movable roof were simplified. The
building was made smaller and completely enclosed the cabin.

Granite was supplied from Milford, Massachusetts for the building's
exterior. The interior marble was quarried in Tennessee. A wide formal
stair of fifty-six steps, one for each year of Lincoln's life, offers a
dramatic approach. Beyond the one-story Doric portico are two
bronzed-panel doors with matching double doors at the rear entrance.

**Authenticity of the Lincoln cabin**

The authenticity of the cabin was often questioned, but it was not until
scholar Roy Hays published an article titled, "Is the Lincoln Birthplace
Cabin Authentic?" in *The Abraham Lincoln Quarterly* in 1949 that
scholarly research began. When a dendrochronologist removed core samples
in 2004, absolute proof was obtained. The sampling determined that the
oldest log in the cabin dates to 1848, indicating that the cabin
enshrined in the Memorial Building was constructed later than 1848 and
could not be the original birthplace cabin. Although not the original
cabin, it is nonetheless significant for its role in perpetuating the
image of Lincoln's dramatic rise from poverty to the White House. Today,
in light of the respectful manner the Lincoln Farm Association and the
government treated the cabin, today it is referred to as the symbolic
cabin; a symbol of the conditions and times of Lincoln's birth and early
childhood in rural Kentucky.

**National Park Status**

In 1911, the Lincoln Farm Association, their task completed, turned the
park over to the State of Kentucky. In 1916, the Sinking Spring Farm
became federal property. The park was managed by The War Department
until jurisdiction over the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace was transferred
the Department of the Interior and entrusted to the care of the National
Park Service in August 1933.

**Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home: Knob Creek Farm**

During a conversation in the White House, President Lincoln once
remarked, "I remember the old home very well. Our farm was composed of
three fields, which lay in a valley surrounded by high hills and deep
gorges."

The Lincolns moved to Knob Creek in 1811. Their one room log cabin at
Knob Creek was near the Bardstown and Green River Turnpike. It was
common for people traveling along the turnpike to spend the night at the
Lincolns, and young Abraham would probably listen attentively to their
stories of the world beyond Knob Creek. He might have seen merchants
taking their goods to market, soldiers coming home from the War of 1812,
and slaves being taken South to the auctions. Today, we know the
Bardstown and Green River Turnpike as 31E.

Abraham may have played with John and Isaac Hodgen. Their father, Robert
Hodgen, owned the mill where people would take their corn to be ground.
Each year, the neighbors would gather at the Hodgen's for a feast.
Because Robert Hodgen was such a strong supporter of the community, when
it came time to name the town, they named it Hodgenville out of
appreciation for his civic contributions.

While living at Knob Creek, the children were sent to the A.B.C. School,
taught by Zachariah Riney and Caleb Hazel. Some people called these
"blab schools" because the students did their lessons out loud. Abraham
Lincoln later stated that his formal education was less than one year.

Legends say that while living at Knob Creek, young Abraham Lincoln found
a dog with a broken leg. He made a splint and took care of the dog,
naming it "Honey." According to his childhood friend Austin Gollaher,
Abraham also had a pet crow, adopted a raccoon, and was given a goat
named, "Billy."

Misfortune seems to have followed the Lincolns from the Sinking Spring
Farm, however, for on December 27, 1815, they were served with an
eviction notice from the Knob Creek Farm. Thomas Lincoln and his
neighbors countered with their own legal action. Now Thomas Lincoln was
involved in two lawsuits: the Sinking Spring Farm he had bought and the
Knob Creek Farm he was currently leasing! On September 12, 1816 the
Hardin Circuit Court ruled against Thomas Lincoln, and he lost his claim
to the Sinking Spring Farm. When he was served with an eviction notice
to leave the Knob Creek Farm, Thomas decided to move his family to
Indiana.

Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Perry (now Spencer) County, Indiana
in December 1816. Thomas Lincoln's brother, Josiah, had already moved to
Harrison County, Indiana. Thomas Lincoln and his family were living in
Indiana when the suit against the Knob Creek families was settled in
their favor. Eventually the \$200 dollars Thomas and Nancy paid for the
Sinking Spring Farm was returned

**Knob Creek Farm becomes a unit of the National Park Service**

In 1928 the Howard family purchased the Kentucky boyhood home of Abraham
Lincoln and dedicated themselves to preserving the memory of Lincoln's
time spent on this farm. Possession and management of this property
remained in the family until November 2001, when the Howard family sold
the site to the Preservation of Lincoln's Kentucky Heritage, who donated
it to the National Park Service, to be administrated by the Abraham
Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site. Today, visitors can walk the
same fields the Lincolns plowed, view an historic garden and follow a
hiking trail to an overlook of the Knob Creek valley.