Illinois National Heritage Areas (Non-Units)

6/3/2017 Abraham Lincoln NHA (Vandalia State House State Historic Site). The Abraham Lincoln NHA is located in Central Illinois and has a charter to tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois.

One park sign ...

... and another

3rd State Capitol

Me and Ken ...

... by the Cumberland Road end sign

Madonna of the Trail

Me, Abe and Ken

10/16/2021 David Davis Mansion State Historic Site ... Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site ... Continuing into downtown we parked near the Abraham Lincoln Museum (and adjacent Library, both in the Abraham Lincoln NHA) and got museum tickets around 3:15 (last tickets sold at 4:00). The museum has a large central atrium surrounded by wedges of exhibits. There are some very lifelike “wax” figures here and there, including the Lincoln family to greet you in the middle of the atrium. We saw a log cabin just like we visited earlier in the year for Lincoln’s boyhood, and a room in the White House with dresses from Mary Lincoln. We saw a short but excellent presentation about historical artifacts in the museum, with a live performer that interacted with ghostly images, and finally somehow fading into a ghost himself. Feeling a little underwhelmed with the museum, for which we pictured more, we went back to the cabin to check out the inside. Here we realized that we hadn’t seen the bulk of the exhibits! The cabin had an extremely detailed vignette of Abe’s early life, and we passed from there to other life-sized vignettes with the same “wax” figures showing Lincoln’s life. We came out of there near the White House, and it turned out we continued the life tour there, past the dress exhibit. There were excellent multi-media presentations on the war, and the decisions surrounding the Emancipation Proclamation, ending in a vignette in Ford’s Theatre. The whole thing was very well done, and it restored our feeling about the Museum! Lincoln Home National Historic Site ... Old State Capitol State Historic Site

The Museum ...

... and Library

One main lobby view

Just like at the Tomb

Ken with the Lincoln family ...

... and now me

The Early Years entrance ...

... with young Abe ...

... in his cabin

Getting older

On the debate trail

Lobby view of White House entrance

Me and the Generals

Young Todd dying

Debating the big question of ...

... emancipation

Cool mural about the war

Booth at Ford's Theater

Lying in state

Here just a few hours ago

8/24/1998 Chicago Portage National Historic Site Went a ways to the Little Red Schoolhouse nature center [Willow Springs], which is in the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, along with the Chicago Portage. Saw the animals in the old school, and took a short nature walk.

Little Red Schoolhouse

8/29/2010 Chicago Portage National Historic Site We also walked a little way on the trails that were part of the Illinois and Michigan Canal NHC. The canals finally replaced the portage trail through the mud lakes that were on the mini-divide between east and west.

10/15/2021 In Romeoville we stopped a little longer for the Illinois & Michigan Canal Locks and Towpath, an NHL and in the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor NHA. The 1848 canal connected the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico and helped establish Chicago as the transportation hub of the U.S. We walked along the old canal towpath, and enjoyed the Lincoln Landing area which includes a curious bronze statue of three Abes kind of squished together. We also made a stop at Lock 1 on the canal.

Mileage marker on the canal

Me and a friend

The entrance to Lincoln Landing

Weird Abe Lincoln artwork

Ken on a canal bridge

Another view down the canal

Lock 1 ...

... with me

A look from over the lock

National Heritage Areas (Non-Units) - Illinois