Looking For Lincoln

Don't miss Lincoln Log Cabin's Civil War Weekend, June 19, 2026 - June 21, 2026!

Bring out Dad and spend Father's Day Weekend learning about the men who answered President Lincoln's call for troops in 1861, those who remained on the home front, and those on the other side!

Visit with soldiers and civilian reenactors, watch mounted and dismounted drilling exercises, participate in a base ball game with 1850s rules, and learn about the lives of Civil War soldiers. Special presentations are scheduled throughout the weekend, and a dance (open to the public!) will be held on Saturday evening.

This event is free for the visiting public.

Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, a gateway site for the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area, was the 1840s home of Abraham Lincoln’s father and stepmother, Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln. It is located eight miles south of Charleston and 14 miles southeast of Mattoon, Illinois.

This event is produced by Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site and the Lincoln Log Cabin Foundation. For more information about this or other events at the site, call 217-345-1845, email [email protected], or visit www.lincolnlogcabin.org.

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On May 30, 1922, the Lincoln Memorial at Washington, D.C. is dedicated.

Commission president William H. Taft – who was then Chief Justice of the United States – dedicated the Memorial on May 30, 1922, and presented it to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people.

Lincoln's only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln, was in attendance.

Prominent African Americans were invited to the event and discovered upon arrival they were assigned a segregated section guarded by U.S. Marines, a policy implemented by director of the Office of Public Buildings and Grounds, Lieutenant Colonel Clarence O. Sherrill.

Learn more about the Lincoln Memorial at
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln_Memorial

THIS DAY IN LINCOLN HISTORY On May 29, 1849, Abraham Lincoln visits his father and stepmother near Charleston, Illinois on their farm near Lerna, Illinois.

Today, the site is known as Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, a highlight of the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area. It preserves the 19th-century home of Thomas Lincoln and Sarah Bush Lincoln, father and step-mother of our 16th president.

Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer living in Springfield by the time his parents moved here, but his burgeoning law practice often brought him to Charleston and the farm, especially during the 1840s. He also owned a portion of the farm which he deeded back to his father and step-mother for their use during their lifetime.

While in the Visitor Center, enjoy the exhibit galleries highlighting the Lincolns, as well as a 14-minute film about the Lincolns, 1840s life, and the site's living history program.

Learn more at
https://lincolnlogcabin.org/