Lincoln Sites in Hodgenville

Stop me if I have told ya this one before.....

 

Some time back in my college days of driving back and forth between Berea and Owensboro, I stopped by my pal Eric's place for a brief break in my travels.

 

I knew that the Abraham Lincoln boyhood home was real close to the area.  Well, Eric offered to drive me out to it.

 

I remember us parking next to it on a rainy night.  It was dark.  My first thought was, "Hey, this looks OK.  Not a bad place."

 

I was looking at the building right next door to the boyhood cabin.  Eric corrected me and brought my attention to the actual cabin next door.... not a lot bigger than a nice children playhouse you might put in your backyard.

 

We stopped by that same cabin recently, and it was the first time that I have been by when an actual ranger has been there!  Our friendly guide showed us the inside of the cabin, and told us about the creek near a few steps away.

 

After stopping by the boyhood home, we went to the main National Park visitor Center and monument area, a few miles down the road.

 

At this location, there is the amazing monument that holds the symbolic birth cabin.  The spring that that family used at that time is still there too! 

 

Also on site is the privately owned, but still historic Nancy Lincoln Inn.  I really like this place too.  The friendly young staff person there mentioned to us that some of the drinks they sold were made from recipes used during Lincoln's time.  They also pointed out some sale items.  This cozy store was also a bit museum like, displaying various postcards, stamps, and scale dioramas relating to Abe Lincoln and the Park.  You must make sure that you go by the Inn on your visit. 

I love historic sites that have some mystery.  The Lincoln cabins do not disappoint.

First off, it is a little confusing keeping each cabin straight.  There is the birth cabin, inside of the monument.  Then there is the boyhood cabin.

I won't even try to explain the source of each cabin, but if you really want to try to figure out the origins of each, you've got some work in front of ya!

I think one of the cabins was built from logs from a cabin that MAY have used some of the Lincoln family logs to build it.  I also remember hearing that the Jefferson Davis boyhood cabin was displayed at one time with one of the cabins.  Somewhere in all of the confusion, some of the Davis cabin's logs probably mixed with the Lincoln ones.  If someone has a definite explanation for the two cabins, please comment!


AND, one of the rangers mentioned to me that there is some debate among scholars as to the exact location of the boyhood home.  Some think the original location may have been on the other side of the creek.  I was told that, when they put that cabin there in the first place, there was an old timer in the area that remembered the Lincoln cabin sitting at the exact location that the current cabin sits.  AGAIN, if anyone has any thoughts about that, I would love to hear them!

Anyway, I really love the drive out to this National Park.  I love getting there, and I love spending time there.