Friday, December 10, 2010

Thomas Lincoln Log Cabin


Near Champaign Illinois, off I-57, are the small towns of Arcola, Arthur, Mattoon, and Charleston. Outside Charleston is the historical site of the Lincoln Log Cabin, operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. On this land, Thomas Lincoln, the father of President Abraham Lincoln, spent his later life as a farmer. His two-pen (two room) home has been reconstructed along with several farm buildings and stocked with the tools, the livestock and the people needed to run a typical 1840s farm. Next door to Thomas Lincoln, another working farm is also exhibited. It belonged to Steven Sargent, who used more-progressive farming techniques. The photo is of the Thomas Lincoln cabin. It was built on the site of the original cabin in 1935. The two whitewashed rooms are small and cozy with low ceilings and wood floors (considered a luxury in pioneer times). Two hearths (one in each room) share a common chimney built in the middle of the log cabin home.

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