Springfield Tour

[Rsmyth]

Gene - thanks for pointing out Joe. It's always nice to put a face with the post! Are those his kids?

[Gene C]

Great inquiry. If you don't mind, I'm planning on waiting for a slow day on the forum and to use that for a trivia question.

[LincolnToddFan]

Welcome back Gene! Hope you all had a great time, and we all can't wait to see the photos!

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Gene for sending these photos.


Photo #1 - There were three Lincolnesque pictures on the wall in the motel room, this was Gene's favorite

Photo #2 - Chuck Hand, his friend Tim Saiter, Joe Di Cola and Gene Cook await the tour for the Lincoln Home

Photo #3 - Replica of the political campaign wagon

Photo #4 - The Lincoln Home from Fido's perspective

[LincolnMan]

And this tome the Lincoln home was open! Anything new inside?

[Gene C]

Nothing new inside, I'd say all the furnishings were at least 150 years old.
It was very crowded with lots of tourists, and a bit dark inside, period lighting, overcast outside so no sunshine coming in through the windows. Hard to take good photo's, although the wallpaper upstairs did brighten things up a bit.
Mary was the only one with a chamber pot in her room. Everybody else had to use the outhouse. Ick! (why do I remember things like that?)

I'm having some challenges figuring out how to post the photo's, although Roger has graciously offered to do that for me. I will be sending him some this after noon.

[RJNorton]

(10-15-2014 10:39 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Everybody else had to use the outhouse. Ick! (why do I remember things like that?)

I went through the Lincoln Home 25+ times over the years with busloads of 8th graders. The kids always seemed to find the outhouse the most fascinating part of the visit. Go here for Bill's blog on the outhouse.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Fido, I still wonder - Mary once gave a "strawberry company for 70 people", and on Thursday, Feb. 5, 1857 there was a "large & pleasant party at [the] Lincolns", for allegedly 500 guests. How was it possible to host so many guests??? Especially as I assume the affair took entirely place on the first floor?! How many square feet does each floor have?

[Gene C]

We could handle the crowd of 70, but it would be crowded. If the 500 all showd up at once, they would have to go outside. So I imagine it was like an open house and they came at different times during the afternoon/evening. All I can really remember was the hired help couldn't wash dishes fast enough so Tad and Wille had me out in the back yard helping out by licking the plates clean while they dryed.

I'm not sure how big it is. I'd guess 1200-1300 sq ft. on the first floor

[Eva Elisabeth]

Tanks! BTW - Re: "Photo #1 - There were three Lincolnesque pictures on the wall in the motel room, this was Gene's favorite" - it looks lovely!!

[L Verge]

Nice to see that Chuck Hand was with you. Great guy!

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Gene for sending these photos. I will number them and perhaps he will make a key in a future posting:

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

#7

#8

#9

#10

#11

#12

#13

#14

#15

#16

#17

#18

#19

#20

#21

[LincolnMan]

Really super photos- makes me feel like I was there.

[Gene C]

Here is a breif caption for the photo's. the tour was quite crowded and it was difficult to get good pictures. The light inside the house was not very bright.

1 & 2 - Sign in front of Loncoln Home. It's a pretty large sign. This may be more readable - http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=48317

3 & 4 - Front and rear of Lincoln Home. The entire block in both directions has been restored to look like it did when the Lincoln's lived here. Most of the homes are park offices, with one for a congressional representative. Fido indicated the large tree in the front was his favorite and, Mr. Lincoln did not have a green thumb when it came to planting trees.

5, 6,7 & 8. The front parlor where guest were entertained. Picture 8 best shows the colors of the room. #6, Best photo we could get of the Lincoln What Not shelf. The shiny object on the floor in front of it is a large shell.

9, 10 & 11 Lincoln's Bedroom. Quite colorfull wall paper and carpet. Mary did not like the small desk in the room, and tried to get rid of it. This is where Mr. Lincoln wrote many of his letters and speeches.

12, 13, 14 & 15. Mary's room. Her room was the only one with a chamber pot. Very colorful wall paper and carpet. I'd have headaches if this were my room too! There is a green dress accross her bed. The color, used a dye that contained arsenic known as Sheele's Green. Commonly used during this time for dying clothes, wall paper and paint. The fumes it gave off could cause very unpleasant side effects. For more info about this - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheele%27s_Green

16, 17, 18 & 19. The Kitchen, by our standard, a bit small in size. No refrigerator or microwave to take up space. Not much in the way of countertops or cabinets. The stove was a recent purchase for the Lincoln's. Note the decorative design. A luxury back then.

20 & 21. Hired Girls Room. According to Mary, good help is hard to find. About the size of a walk in closet. Upstairs, only Mary and Abraham's rooms had wallpaper.

Special thanks to Chuck Hand on our tour. He knew several of the park personnel, and we were able to see many things the general public does not get to. It really made the tour special.

[L Verge]

That photo of the unique gutter system on the outside of the house blew me away! I'd love to know the justification for that and also if it is a modern concoction put up by the NPS.