Interactive Map

South Side of Courthouse Square, near statue of Lincoln. Be sure to pose with Abe, and get your photo taken!

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.

This Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibit tells the story of Lincoln's visits to Danville during the twenty years he came to town.  

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.

William A. Richardson had close ties with both Lincoln and Douglas.  Learn about their political and other connections and how two Quincyans, Richardson and Douglas, passed the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act. Why did Lincoln oppose Richardson’s political views yet respect and regard him as “one of the truest men that ever lived”?

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

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.    

What did Lincoln see in 1858 as he surveyed downtown Quincy from the platform for the sixth debate?  Learn about the vibrant commercial district around Washington Square in the “Model City,” anchored by the elegant Quincy House hotel and a columnated Greek Revival courthouse. However, Quincy’s largest manufacturing establish­ments, riverfront steamboat activity, and new railroad station were built three blocks downhill on the shore of Quincy Bay.

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

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.    

Elijah P. Lovejoy, abolitionist and editor, surrendered his life for free speech, free press, and free men.  As a Presbyterian minister, Lovejoy read the bible, memorized hymns and led a life of Christian morality and conviction.  After college, he ventured west to St. Louis and later bought half interest in the St. Louis Times.  As the paper’s editor, he was concerned with politics and social justice. 

In 1836, following opposition of his anti-slavery views, Lovejoy moved the paper to Alton and called it The Observer.  On Sunday, July 23, Elijah received his first printing press.  Before dawn, it was destroyed and dumped in the river by a group of men from Missouri.  Several of Lovejoy’s printing presses were destroyed by angry mobs.  On the night of November 7, 1837, Lovejoy’s fourth press was destroyed and thrown into the Mississippi River.  That night, Lovejoy was murdered as he stood defending his press.

Today, visitors can pay tribute to this martyr of the abolitionist movement at the Lovejoy Monument in the Alton Cemetery.  One of Lovejoy’s presses, recovered from the river, can also be seen in the lobby of The Telegraph in Alton.  Exhibits dedicated to telling the story of Elijah Lovejoy can also be found at the Alton Museum of History and Art.

At the Illinois Republican Convention in 1860, a local photographer, E. A. Barnwell, decided to seek out the “biggest” man among the convention participants.  He found that the biggest man in both stature and importance was Abraham Lincoln.  Lincoln posed for a portrait at Barnwell’s studio.

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.