The Thomas Lincoln farm

[Rob Wick]

In a book, Lincoln, Land, and Labor, 1809-1860, originally written in France in 1988 and translated to English in 1994, French historian Oliver Fraysse discusses how land and property reflected and shaped Lincoln's worldview. Fraysse writes of the Sinking Springs Farm:

Thomas Lincoln was disappointed very quickly by his first experience as an independent farmer. The land at Nolin Creek was not fertile, situated as it was on the borders of the barrens described by Francois Andre Michaux. This expanse of sixty thousand square miles was so called because of the lack of water and trees, both of which the pioneers deemed indispensable for agriculture. Grass grew tall, reaching two to three feet in height, and Virginia creeper was abundant. Trees had disappeared because of the Indian custom of burning vegetation in March and April to provide pasture for the buffalo. Water was to be found in great abundance, but under the surface of the soil in the labyrinth of caves and subterranean galleries that make this area of limestone subsoils typical of a karstic region. Sinking Spring Farm owed its name to a geological feature often associated with such landscapes, water spouting up from the soil only to vanish into it immediately.
These characteristics explain the low population in this part of the Pennyrile region where only corn was grown, a decided drawback for subsistence agriculture. Lack of communications and absence of neighbors and of scenery gave the word barren its true meaning. (pg. 7)

There was tobacco grown on the farm, although it appears to have been when the Lincoln Farm Association owned the property at the turn of the 20th century. Here is a photo of the crop being grown.



This is a picture of the farm in 1895



Because of the poor conditions, Thomas Lincoln moved his family to the Knob Creek farm, which Fraysse notes "At the foot of this hill (Mulder Hill), which at Knob Creek rises to 150 feet, the farm was located. The shaley soil was of good qality and, in addition to corn, also produced clover and alfalfa. The terrain was hilly, 'knotty and knobby,' and cedars grew on the largest knobs." (pg. 8)

This is a picture of the Knob Creek Farm that I took on a visit there.



Hope this helps.

Best
Rob