The Kentucky Heritage Council is a strong partner in the national and statewide Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration, scheduled to kick off in February 2008 and continue through 2010.
Many believe Lincoln to be the greatest president in American history. Nothing conveys this legacy better than the buildings and places associated with the man, his family and others who shaped him. Fortunately, many of these important sites stand today thanks to efforts by preservationists and landmark legislation, the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
Lincoln was born February 12, 1809 in LaRue County, Kentucky. He continues to capture our imagination because of his journey from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to our 16th president. Across the country, communities, organizations and individuals are planning parades, museum exhibitions, performances and other activities in his honor, spearheaded by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, a 15-member panel created by Congress.
To assist the influx of travelers to the Commonwealth, the Heritage Council in partnership with the Kentucky Lincoln Bicentennial Commission is reviving the historic Kentucky Heritage Lincoln Trail, a scenic route featuring Lincoln-related sites such as buildings and structures, highway markers, works of art, graves and two museums. Directional and highway signage, a brochure, map and Web site are being developed.
Perhaps the most significant historic site associated with Lincoln is the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site, a neo-classical building dedicated on the centennial of his birth with a cornerstone laid by President Theodore Roosevelt. Located on the Sinking Spring Farm where Lincoln’s family lived at the time of his birth, the memorial houses a modest log cabin symbolic of the one in which he was born.
A few miles away is the Knob Creek Farm where Lincoln lived with his family until moving to Indiana in 1816. A log tavern, restaurant and reconstructed cabin built in 1933 and billed as the Lincoln Boyhood Home are now considered to be classic examples of early American roadside architecture. The Mary Todd Lincoln House in Lexington was home to Mary Ann Todd from 1832 to 1839, and she and her husband visited often after their marriage. Constructed in 1803-06 in the late Georgian style, the home’s 14 rooms attest to the socioeconomic standing of one of Lexington’s most influential families. All of these sites are listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
These and many other places throughout Kentucky continue to contribute to our understanding of Lincoln and his presidency and help document Kentucky’s impact on the future president’s ideals and dedication to freedom, democracy and equal opportunity for all.