A Place to Call Home

A Place to Call Home. . You are standing in front of the house Abraham Lincoln and his family called home from 1844 to 1861. Take a closer look and you will find a plaque in the front door with Lincoln's name on it. Seven years after he rode into Springfield on a borrowed horse with all his belongings in two saddlebags, Lincoln bought a small cottage that would grow right along with him and his family until it became a full two story house. This would be the first and only home he ever owned. , The Lincolns lived for seventeen years in this house. Lincoln's sons Eddie, Willie, and Tad were born in this house. Here Abraham and Mary Lincoln's friends and neighbors gathered for Eddie's funeral in 1850. A familiar sight would have been Lincoln closing his front door behind him as he walked to his law office. From this home, Lincoln's first-born son Robert left for college in 1859. , In February 1861, Lincoln closed the front door one last time, as he left his home in Springfield, Illinois for Washington D.C. as president-elect of the United States. Ahead was the task to govern a nation divided by slavery, and to preserve a government, as he later said, "whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men - to lift artificial weights from all shoulders - to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all - to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life." Lincoln's life in Springfield was the embodiment of that belief, the ideal that in a free society everyone should have a fair chance. , Captions , Left Lower: This picture was taken in 1860. Abraham Lincoln and his third son, Willie, are seen standing behind the fence. Tad, the youngest son, is hiding behind the fencepost. National Park Service , Timelines , 1839 , The house was a 1½ story cottage constructed for Reverend Charles Dresser. , 1844 , The Lincoln family (Abraham, Mary, and Robert) moved into the home. , 1855-1856 , The home was raised to two full stories. The bedroom was moved to the upstairs portion of the home, allowing for the creation of the rear parlor. The iron railing was added to the second-floor porch and a wall was put in place to separate the kitchen and dining room. , 1861 , The Lincoln family moved to Washington, D.C. Lucian Tilton, a railroad executive, and his wife became tenants of the Lincoln Home. , 1887 , The Lincoln Home was deeded to the State of Illinois by Robert Lincoln. , 1972 , The Lincoln Home officially became a National Historic Site.