The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-04-18
LINCOLN,s BIRTHPLACE.
The Farm To he Preserved ms a Place
of Historic Interest.

It once seemed that. like Homer and
Columbus. Abraham Lincoln would have
several localities COntending for the
honor Of his birth. The matter was not
long allowed TO remain in doubt. how
ever, and biographers are able to point
To the exact spot where the martyr pres
ident first saw the light. The recent pur-
chase OF this place in Larue county.
Kentucky. by man who has i'm view the
establishment of a resort of national in
terest, like Mount Vernon and the Her
mitage has drawn fresh attention to the
baclwOods settlement which gave the
world so great and unique a character.
The purchaser of the property is Mai
s. p. Gross. the genius who presided
over the destinies Of the restaurant in
the Kentucky building at the worlds
fair.
Nearly sixty miles southwest from
Louisville. on the c., o. & s. w. railway
is the little town of Hodgensville. It
takes four hours to run down there from
this city. Hodgensville is distinctly
countrified. j is visited rarely by any
persons from the great world beyond,
except drummers. Now and then a stray
tourist makes pilgrimage to the re-
markable, but little known, farm, three
miles to the southwark, where the
father Of Lincoln settled eighty-fiVe years
ago. From HOdgensville only a country
road leads out to the old homestead and
the visitor finds himself under the neces-
sity of hiring a livery rig to reach it,
The country exhibits nothing remarkable
in its characteristics. and the soil seems
generally to be of a poor clay formation.
Much Of the available land has been
cleared and fenced for farming purposes,
and some fine places are seen.
When one looks at the surroundings
no wonder is felt that Lincoln should
have exhibited reticence to speak of the
circumstances of his early life. There
honor. Even at the present day the
thought Of life spent in the locality is
anything but attractive, Notwithstanding
that it lies just without the famous blue
grass region.
The Lincoln homestead was a few
years ago the property Of Richard era
die, from whose heirs Maj. Gross bought
it. Though originally laid off for 100
acres. il is really 10 acres in extent. AS
in the case of many other rudely sur
veyed tracts in Kentucky, a close meas
urement shows it contains a larger piece
of territory than was intended. Most
Of the land has been cleared and is sur
rounded by a weather-worn rail fence.
OF the old single-roOm log hut in which
the president was born there remains
only a heap Of stones where the rough
chimney stood. All else has disappeared.
though the decayed stump Of what is
said to have been a pear tree is seen
near by. A few hundreds yards to the
southwest there now stands a substan-
tial farm house, which manifestly be-
longs to later era. The place has been
in the hands of farm tenants for sew
eral years. and shows signs of neglect.
Weeds have grown up around the yard
and wild shrubbery in the fence corners.
The house itself was vacant when Wis
tied. A more unpromising place for the
birth of a great man was probably never
seen, and the original dwelling was Ger
tainly scarcely better than the fourteen
foot square hut at EliZabethtown. in
which Thomas Lincoln. the presidents
father, first settled upon his marriage
with Nancy Hanks in 1906.
Only one living person recollects Lin
coin in the days of his childhood spent
in Iarue county. This is an aged farm
er. who still resides in that locality. His
name is Austin Gollaher. For decades
past he has been the single surviving
eyewitness of occurrences i'm those early
days of the future presidents career.
Mr. Gollaher takes pleasure in recount
ing how on one occasion. when he was
nine years of age and Lincoln but sew
en-. he fished the latter out of Knob
C. eek. a considerable stream of the 10
calitv The future presi lent had fallen
I'm while the boys were crossing the
stream on a foot-log and was in immi-
nent danger of drowning.
Although not communicative on the
subject of his early life. Lincoln, 1t
seems. always retained a tenderness for
his birthplace. On one occasion, in 1864,
J. II. Rodman, the father of d. NJ Rod
man. an attorney of this city. went to
Washington as one of the commissioners
from Larue county to eXpOStulate
| against a fresh conscription, Larue hav-
ing already furnished more than its
quota of men 70 the union army On
hearing the circumstances Lincoln at
once signed the order granting the re-
lief asked for In the same conversation
he told Mr.. Rodman he was born in
Hardin county, a portion of which, In
Guiding the Lincoln homestead, in 1S43
was erected into Larue
Another point of almost as great in
terest as the presidents birthplace is
the farm to which Thomas Lincoln
moved when his son was but four years
old. IT is but a few miles distant on
Knob creek. Here the family dwelt for
three years and thence removed to Indi-
ana.
Just what the place cost Maj. Gross is
a quasi-secret. IL is said. however. not
TO have been above $4,000. Maj. Gross
proposes to rescue the place from its OBJ
livion and make 1t a point where the
| sightseer can find something TO repay
him for the trouble of a visit Exactly
what his plans are he will not divulge,
though it IS generally supposed he has
some expectation. after having improved
the place, Of disposing of it to the gov