A Maryland Terrapins Road Trip To Big Ten Country – Land Of Lincoln

Lincoln Home in Springfield, Illinois (Author Photo)

With the first half of my Maryland basketball trip into Big Ten Country over, it was now time between Maryland Terrapins games to spend a couple of days visiting the sites of the Midwest.

First was a visit to Springfield, Illinois. The state is known as the Land of Lincoln for a good reason. The man was born in Kentucky and raised early in life in Indiana. But his life was molded by the turn into adulthood he made in Illinois. First in nearby New Salem and later in Springfield, Abraham Lincoln become the lawyer and family man that helped propel him into public life.

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library in Museum in downtown Springfield is an amazing and entertaining exhibition of all aspects of Lincoln’s life. It is a must-see for pretty much everyone. Interactive exhibits and films throw you into the history of the president who shaped the United States of America.

The Lincoln Home National Historic Site is five blocks away. The National Park Service does an excellent job here of keeping true the historic details of the home where Lincoln and his wife Mary Todd Lincoln began their family life. And looking at the actual desk where Abe Lincoln wrote many essays is quite amazing.

Before leaving town we stopped at the Lincoln Tomb in nearby Oak Ridge Cemetery. The mausoleum is owned and administered by the State of Illinois as Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site. Besides Abraham Lincoln, Mrs. Lincoln and three of Lincoln’s four sons, Edward, Willie, and Tad are also buried here (their eldest son, Robert Todd Lincoln, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery). Make sure to stop outside and rub the nose of head of Lincoln at the base of the tomb each year.

After another cold and blistering numb day in Central Illinois I am heading to Chicago next.