| New Salem | |
| Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Park, National Historic Place Listing | |
| Unincorporated | |
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Welcome center, New Salem State Historic Site
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | Menard |
| Coordinates | |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
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Location of New Salem within Illinois
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Location of Illinois in the United States
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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 1830's, this was the homestead of the future U.S. President.[1] 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. New Salem was recreated as an historic village in the 1930s, based on the original foundations.[2] 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.)
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New Salem was founded in 1828, when James Rutledge and John Camron built a gristmill on the Sangamon River. Over the first few years of its existence, the town grew rapidly, but after the county seat was located in nearby Petersburg, the village began to shrink and by 1840, it was abandoned. The fact that the Sangamon River was not well-suited for steamboat travel was also a reason for the town's decline.
In 1831, when his father (Abe's father, Thomas) relocated the family from Indiana to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois, 22-year-old Lincoln struck out on his own.[3] Lincoln arrived in New Salem by way of flatboat and he remained in the village for about six years. During his stay, Lincoln earned a living as a shopkeeper, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, land surveyor, rail splitter, as well as doing odd jobs around the village. As far as historians know, Lincoln never owned a home in the village as most single men did not own homes at this time; however, he would often sleep in the tavern or his general store and board (take his meals) with a nearby family.
He ran for the Illinois General Assembly in 1832, handily winning his New Salem precinct but losing the countywide district election.[4] He tried again in 1834 and won. Lincoln left New Salem and moved to Springfield, also in his election district, around 1837.
When Lincoln lived in New Salem, the village was home to a cooper shop, blacksmith shop, four general stores, a tavern, a grocery, two doctors offices, a shoemaker, a carpenter, a hat maker, a tanner, a schoolhouse/church and several residences. During its short existence, the village was home to anywhere from 20-25 families at a time. It is important to remember that New Salem was not a small farm village, but instead a commercial village full of young businessmen and craftsmen trying to start a new life on the frontier.
The current village was rebuilt on foundations of the original village by the Civilian Conservation Corps, during the Great Depression. The location is presently a historic park, called Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, featuring buildings, mostly log cabins and costumed interpreters, representing the era of Lincoln's residency. Twenty-two of the buildings are reconstructed; one log cabin, the Onstot Cooper Shop, is original, although it had been previously moved by Henry Onstot to Petersburg in 1840. In 1922, it was returned to New Salem on what archeologists believe was its original foundation.
Lincoln's New Salem was visited by approximately 600,000 people in 2006. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, under the name, Lincoln's New Salem Village. [5][6]
Active recreational infrastructure centers on the Mentor Graham Trail, 0.75 mi (1.21 km) long, and the Volksmarch Trail, 6 mi (9.7 km) long. The state park contains 200 campsites, including 100 electrical hookups.
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