Lincoln's New Salem
New Salem is the historically recreated townsite of Abraham Lincoln's, 19th century, frontier village in Menard County (previously part of Sangamon County), Illinois, United States. During his 20s, in the 1830s, this was the homestead of the future U.S. President. Here, Lincoln earned a living as a boatman, shopkeeper, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, land surveyor, rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly. Lincoln moved away to the nearby capitol of Springfield around 1836.
New Salem was recreated as a historic village in the 1930s, based on the original foundations. The first village was generally abandoned about 1840, as other towns developed. The village is located 15 mi (24 km) northwest of Springfield, and approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Petersburg. (The present village of New Salem in Pike County, Illinois is a different and separate community.)
Read more about Lincoln's New Salem: Original New Salem, Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
Famous quotes containing the words lincoln and/or salem:
“Herewith is a little sketch, as you requested. There is not much of it, for the reason, I suppose, that there is not much of me. If anything be made out of it, I wish it to be modest, and not to go beyond the material.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“I have always endeavored to acquire strict business habits; they are indispensable to every man. If your trade is with the Celestial Empire, then some small counting house on the coast, in some Salem harbor, will be fixture enough.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)