The Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park and Memorial is a 162 acre (0.65 km²) state park located on the Sangamon River in Macon County near Harristown, Illinois. This important historic site, only 12 miles Southwest of Decatur, offers hiking, canoeing, picnicking, recreational activities, and a glimpse into the past.  The park offers a unique view of central Illinois.

 

The state memorial, created in 1938, commemorates the approximate location of Abraham’s Lincoln’s first home in Illinois. The original Lincoln cabin has long been lost but the memorials and the quiet forest and stream easily transport the visitor back to the time when the Lincoln's first settled this virgin wilderness.  When you visit the park, drive east to the end of the park road where you will the find the memorials.

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The park contains mature upland and bottomland timber.  An American Linden tree considered to be over 300 years old would have been there in Lincoln's time. The uplands include mature Black Walnut trees and many species of oak, hickory as well as Redbud, Dogwood, and Pawpaw in the understory.  Large Cottonwood, Sycamore, and Silver Maple dominate the bottomland timber.   Wildflowers abound including Bluebells, Larkspur, and Wild Ginger. 

 

An Illinois Department of Natural Resources 2003 inventory of the Lower Sangamon River valley reveals that “diverse habitats and largely rural landscape provide homes or rest areas for nearly every species of bird found in Illinois.”  All but one of 300 bird species found in Illinois, 30 of which are listed by the state as threatened or endangered have been spotted in the area. Eighty percent of the state’s mammals can be found in this area as well as almost half its plants and reptiles.

 

The park is about 10 miles straight west of Decatur, Illinois. Take Route 36 past Harristown to Lincoln Trail Memorial Parkway; go south four miles. The park is on the east side of the road.