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Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.  Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story.  Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with.  There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.    

Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.  Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story.  Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with.  There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.    

Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.  Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story.  Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with.  There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.    

Housed in a home owned by Dr. William Fithian, Civil War surgeon and personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, the Fithian Home features the south balcony from which Lincoln gave a speech in 1858 and the bedroom he used on his many visits.  Each remain as they were during Lincoln’s time there.  The Joseph G. Cannon (Uncle Joe) room contains personal items of Cannon’s who served in the U.S. House for 46 years and was Speaker from 1903 to 1911.

Listed on National Register of Historic Places.

View over 40 outdoor interpretive exhibits placed throughout the downtown area to experience Springfield as Abraham Lincoln knew it. Each exhibit is intended to capture a moment in time for Lincoln and how he was affected by the people, places and events he encountered in his hometown. Each story is accompanied by graphics or photographs and a medallion that is symbolic of that particular story. Visitors are encouraged to collect rubbings of each medallion.

In the 1840s and 1850s, the Franklin House was one of the largest and finest hotels in Alton. Spectators of the debate came by train and steamboat from all over Illinois and the nearby slave state of Missouri to witness the last of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates in Alton. Lincoln used the Franklin House as his campaign headquarters where supporters gathered for the day.

Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.  Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story.  Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with.  There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.    

David A. Smith, a Jacksonville attorney and colleague of Abraham Lincoln, had this two-story, Federal-style house built between 1852 and 1854. When Lincoln had legal business in Jacksonville, he used Smith’s law office as his headquarters. Records indicate that Lincoln and Smith were associated with 68 cases as either co-counselors or opposing attorneys.

During the twenty years Abraham Lincoln attended the DeWitt County Court on the Eighth Judicial Circuit, he and Clifton H. Moore, Clinton's first resident attorney, developed a deep friendship as well as a mutual law practice.  The two men shared many similarities, each achieving his law degree through diligent independent study rather than university education.  Both had abilities for surveying land.  Lincoln used his skills in New Salem days; Moore used his knowledge in the purchase of large tracts of farmland.  Both had a great appreciation for books, Moore acquiring the largest private library in downstate Illinois.  Lincoln, also an avid reader, despite his limited one-year classroom education, had a great thirst for knowledge and often perused a book during his long, bumpy circuit rides...

The shocking and sad news of Lincoln's assassination prompted the congregation of the Clinton Presbyterian Church to hold services of mourning on April 17, 1865.  Rev. A. J. Clark gave a sermon followed by an eloquent eulogy delivered by Clinton H. Moore.  The Clinton Public reported that his speech "paid a just tribute to the noble dead, counseled moderation on the part of the people and built up the hopes of all loyal hearts."  Perhaps Moore's most meaningful statements concerning Lincoln were, "In him, next to God, we trusted.  Trusted in his honesty, that was never tarnished... trusted in his mercy .... Above all, we trusted him because he had power and had not abused it."  A steady knell of all the church bells followed their services, accentuating the grief felt by all.

Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.  Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story.  Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with.  There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area.    

On the site of Quincy’s first dwelling, learn how Lincoln and John Wood shared similar experiences as they settled in frontier Illinois and how this shaped their shared political views.  Learn about Wood’s first home in Quincy, a one-room “log cabin of the most primitive sort.” Find out how Wood’s efforts in 1824 helped prevent the legalizing of slavery in Illinois. 

Looking for Exhibits Wayside Exhibits related to Quincy in the Lincoln Era are located at 18 sites. The exhibits provide details about Lincoln, events, local people, and environment that contributed to Lincoln's Quincy story. 

Guide to Lincoln's Quincy:  https://seequincy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/lincoln-in-quincy_web_2016.pdf