Lincoln Trail Homestead State Park and Memorial has significant historical interest in being the first home of Abraham Lincoln in Illinois.

 

The Thomas Lincoln family moved from Indiana and erected a homestead, west of Decatur, Illinois along the Sangamon River in Macon County in 1830. This plot on the high north side of the Sangamon River was excellent farmland, but illness and an extremely harsh winter, known as the “Winter of the Deep Snow”, prompted Thomas and Sarah to move to Coles County after only one year.  At this time, Abraham Lincoln began to seek a life of his own and moved to New Salem and later to Springfield, Illinois.  A marker was erected by the Decatur chapter of the D.A.R. in 1904 showing the approximate area Lincoln’s first home was built.

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The abandoned Lincoln farmstead was later settled by the Whitley family, who lived at the site for several generations.  The Whitley’s built a dam across the Sangamon River to power a small mill. The park contains the Whitley’' pioneer cemetery; and the remains of the mill dam on the Sangamon River. The park was formally dedicated in 1957.

 

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 find the memorials.