On East Street south of County Road 40 South, on the left when traveling south.
As Spencer County celebrates its bicentennial 1818-2018 Spencer County Historical Society recognizes Bakers Creek Baptist Church for 200 years of active service. The church was organized in 1818 and the first service in the first meeting house . . . — — Map (db m207231) HM
Huffman Mill Bridge 1864-65 William T. Washer was contracted with Spencer & Perry Counties, July 1864 to build a 148 foot yellow poplar Burr Arch-Trust Bridge. (Patented by Theodore Burr 1771-1882). Contract payment called for Ten Thousand . . . — — Map (db m56774) HM
On Indiana Route 162, 0.2 miles west of County Road N200E, on the right when traveling west.
On this spot stood the first home in Indiana of James Gentry who settled here in 1818. In this two story log house with a breezeway he reared his family of eight children. Here in the spring of 1830 the Lincoln family spent its last night in this . . . — — Map (db m177235) HM
On Indiana Route 162, 0.2 miles west of County Road N200E, on the right when traveling west.
Gentry (1778-1840) settled northwest of here in 1818. A farmer and merchant, Gentry employed Abraham Lincoln to help transport merchandise by flatboat to New Orleans in December, 1828. Lincoln family spent its last night at Gentry's home before . . . — — Map (db m177236) HM
On Indiana Route 162, 0.2 miles west of County Road N200E, on the right when traveling west.
A general store was a necessary part of a young community, allowing the farmer's raw materials to be exchanged for finished products.
[Captions:]
Gentry and Lincoln
Gentry hired Abraham Lincoln to clerk at this store. . . . — — Map (db m177234) HM
Near County Road 1575, 0.7 miles west of Main Street (State Route 62), on the right when traveling west.
During this period in Indiana history, even a merchant would have had a barn for livestock and grain
Along with his home and store, Colonel Jones maintained a barn. The barn stored grain and stabled livestock. Hay was kept in the loft. . . . — — Map (db m185590) HM
Just take a look at the view across the Ohio River from this spot – it's grand. And that's just what residents thought in 1851, when the town was platted and recorded as "Grandview". The name and the view have been notable ever since.
In the . . . — — Map (db m207147) HM
Sandy Creek Landing
This creek area, known as Sandy Creek Landing in the late 1700s and early 1800s, was mostly used by the early settlers of Spencer County. Points East and West were located directly across the river from Blackford Creek. The . . . — — Map (db m207150) HM
On County Route 300E, 0.3 miles south of Lewis Street, on the right when traveling north.
Now he belongs to the ages
- Edwin M. Stanton, Lincoln's Secretary of War, 1865
Explore the life of Abraham Lincoln, the man called the Great Liberator, through five National Park Service sites and memorials. . . . — — Map (db m178223) HM
Near County Road 300 E, on the left when traveling south.
Abraham Lincoln [1809-1865] was one of America's greatest presidents. The character and strengths he demonstrated throughout his presidency found their roots in what is now Spencer County in southern Indiana. From 1816 to 1830, from ages seven to . . . — — Map (db m185629) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the right when traveling north.
The barn housed frontier livestock vital to pioneers: horses, sheep, and the family cow. Horses plowed fields, pulled wagons, and dragged logs for construction. Milk from cows and wool from sheep were staples to pioneer families. — — Map (db m179313) HM
On Lewis Street at Harrison Street, on the right when traveling west on Lewis Street.
When the Lincoln family arrived in Indiana in 1816, they found a largely unsettled and untamed wilderness. Like other early settlers to the area, the Lincolns relied on the resources of the forest for their daily living. Plants and animals . . . — — Map (db m178983) HM
Near East South Street east of County Road 300 E when traveling north.
In 1933 the Lincoln cabin site was excavated. Workmen uncovered the remains of sill logs and hearth stones and built the stone wall. Later, the bronze fireplace and sill log casting were placed on the site to outline where the cabin stood. Some of . . . — — Map (db m72314) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the right when traveling north.
Because Thomas Lincoln was a carpenter, reenactors working in the carpenter shop use historically accurate tools to build furniture and other implements for use on the farm. — — Map (db m179311) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the left when traveling north.
Like most pioneer families, the Lincolns owned what were commonly called “barnyard fowl,” which may have included a few geese. Pioneers usually left the chickens to fend for themselves, but it was common to have some type of chicken coop for modest . . . — — Map (db m179312) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the right when traveling north.
Pioneers like Thomas Lincoln grew a variety of crops including corn and tobacco. Typically a family would consume some of the harvest and sell the remainder for cash. Today the fields are planted with common 19th-century crops and cultivated by . . . — — Map (db m179306) HM
On State Road 162 at County Road E1600N, on the right when traveling west on State Road 162.
In 1819, Turnham family settled less than one mile northeast of Thomas Lincoln's farm. Turnham was a friend of Abraham Lincoln. Turnham loaned Lincoln Revised Laws of Indiana (1824) in 1827. After Lincoln's assassination, he provided . . . — — Map (db m177237) HM
On Boyhood Nature Trail, on the right when traveling east.
The wood of the dogwood tree was used for knitting needles and sled runners because of it’s smooth texture. Its natural strength also made it good material for fashinoning into wedges for splitting wood and in tool handles. County doctors made a . . . — — Map (db m179304) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the left when traveling north.
The Lincolns cultivated a vegetable garden that provided food for the family. They probably grew potatoes, beans, radishes, onions, and melons. The women typically tended the kitchen garden, while the men worked in the larger crop fields. — — Map (db m179310) HM
On East South Street east of County Road 300 E, on the right when traveling east.
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial represents an important expression of the nation’s respect and reverence for Abraham Lincoln. The park includes the farm of Thomas Lincoln, Abraham’s father; the marked gravesite of Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks . . . — — Map (db m72345) HM
Near East South Street east of County Road 300 E when traveling north.
There are three main trails in the park. Time and interest can help you decide which to explore.
The Trail of Twelve Stones retraces the stages of Abraham Lincoln’s life. Along the trail ate stones from various places that were part of his . . . — — Map (db m72348) HM
On Lincoln Boyhood Trail, on the left when traveling north.
While the pioneer family spent most of their time working outdoors, this one-room log cabin was the center of family life. Here they gathered to eat, sleep, and share their lives on the Indiana frontier of the 1820s. — — Map (db m179309) HM
Near East South Street east of County Road 300 E when traveling north.
On October 5, 1818, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of milk sickness. This mysterious and dreaded illness was feared by pioneers because its cause was unknown. Mrs. Lincoln had nursed and comforted some of her neighbors with the disease until she became . . . — — Map (db m72311) HM
On Boyhood Nature Trail, on the right when traveling north.
The ripe fruits of the persimmon trees were harvested in fall and eaten plain or made into cakes, puddings and cookies. The wood of the trees is very hard and makes excellent wedges for use in splitting logs and was also used in the making of . . . — — Map (db m179302) HM
On Boyhood Nature Trail, on the right when traveling east.
The settlers collected the sassafras roots, boiled them to make "spring tonic" or teas and brown dyes for coloring fabric. The wood was ideal for building boats. Settlers also used the aromatic qualities of the leaves, bark, and roots to add an . . . — — Map (db m179301) HM
On Boyhood Nature Trail, on the right when traveling south.
The innocent-looking, shade-loving, white snakeroot plant brought tragedy into the lives of many frontier families, including the Lincolns. It contains a poison that causes milk sickness in humans. Cows would transfer the poison through their milk . . . — — Map (db m179305) HM
On Boyhood Nature Trail, on the right when traveling west.
The leaves of the sweetgum tree were ground for medical purposes and were chewed like gum. The settlers often used the sweetgum wood for making furniture. — — Map (db m179303) HM
On East South Street east of Road 300 E, on the left when traveling east.
You are facing the wooded knoll on which sleeps Nancy Hanks Lincoln mother of the President who lived in this Hoosier environment during the formative years of his life from 1816 to 1830.
Beyond, to the north, is marked the site of the . . . — — Map (db m72342) HM
Near East South Street east of County Road 300 E when traveling north.
When Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Indiana in December 1816, this area was an unbroken wilderness. The forest was dense with massive trees and inhabited by wolves, bears, and panthers. The arrival of the Lincolns and other pioneers transformed . . . — — Map (db m72312) HM
On South 1st Street at Clark Street, on the left when traveling south on South 1st Street.
James Lankford settled in the Rockport area in 1808, moving his wife and daughter into a cave under the bluff overlooking the Ohio River. Other settlers moved into the lowland that became downtown Rockport (originally dubbed Hanging Rock). By . . . — — Map (db m47615) HM
On South 2nd Street at Main Street, on the left when traveling north on South 2nd Street.
In October, 1844 Abraham Lincoln saddled up his horse and set out from Springfield, Illinois, for a trip back to his boyhood home in Spencer County, Indiana. It had been 14 years since he had left, and his term as a state legislator was over. He was . . . — — Map (db m47599) HM
On South 1st Street at Clark Street, on the left when traveling south on South 1st Street.
Marking Old Lower Landing where in 1828 – age 19 – Abraham Lincoln with Allen Gentry made his first flatboat trip to New Orleans. He saw slaves sold and said. “If I ever get a chance to hit that thing, I’ll hit it . . . — — Map (db m47358) HM
Near West County Road 200 North at South County Road 500 West, on the left when traveling east.
Alda Victoria McCoy Honig was born April 14, 1885 in Lake (Richland), Indiana. She was the daughter of Dr. Leonidas H. McCoy and Emmaline Hatfield McCoy.
She began studying the piano in her childhood, and when she was 13 her father took her to . . . — — Map (db m207224) HM
Near South 5th Street, 0.1 miles south of Seminary Street, on the left when traveling south.
The following is a selection from a biography of Daniel Grass by his great granddaughter, Miss Laura Wright. Written for Southwestern Indiana Historical Society, date unknown.
Daniel Grass was two and a half years old when his father was . . . — — Map (db m207214) HM
On Main Street at South 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
General James C. Veatch was born in Harrison County, Indiana, December 19, 1819, and died December 21, 1895 at Rockport. His great-grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War.
In 1838, after teaching one term of school in Luce Township, he . . . — — Map (db m207161) HM
Near West County Road 200 North at South County Road 500 West, on the left when traveling east.
George Henry Honig was born August 3, 1874 in Rockport, Indiana. He was the son of Simon Honig and Mary Killian Honig.
At the age of 14, George was a Lincoln scholar and interviewed people in the area that knew Abraham Lincoln.
He was . . . — — Map (db m207227) HM
On South 1st Street, 0.1 miles south of Main Street, on the right when traveling south.
At the age of 24, James Lankford (Langford) and his family left their home in Stokes County, North Carolina probably traveling through the Cumberland Gap across Daniel Boone's wilderness road, the most direct route from North Carolina to Indiana . . . — — Map (db m207180) HM
On South 2nd Street, 0.1 miles north of Clark Street, on the right when traveling north.
This house was built by Mathias and Katherine Sharp on property once owned by Judge John Pitcher, Spencer County's first lawyer and Abraham Lincoln's close friend. It was the first house in Rockport to be designed by an architect and the first bluff . . . — — Map (db m207184) HM
On Main Street at South 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east on Main Street.
In Honor of the Revolutionary Soldiers buried in Spencer County Indiana
(Row One) - - Thomas Blair • David Chancellor • Lodowich Davis • Abraham Hornbeck • James Jones • Thomas Jones
(Row Two) - - Zachariah Briant • William Kelly • William . . . — — Map (db m47405) HM
On Walnut Street at South 6th Street, on the left when traveling west on Walnut Street.
In 1857, prominent men of the Methodist Episcopal Church
formed the Rockport Academy. The cornerstone was laid in
1859, but the opening was delayed by the Civil War until
1863. The building was 50' x 70', three stories high, and
made of brick. . . . — — Map (db m207220) HM
Near South 5th Street, 0.1 miles south of Seminary Street, on the left when traveling south.
The Old Rockport Pioneer Cemetery contains the graves of Rockport's early settlers, including Daniel Grass, the founder of the town, his wife and son. The names of people buried were taken from newspapers and tombstone readings in 1926, 1965, 1985, . . . — — Map (db m207218) HM
On Main Street at South Second Street, on the left when traveling east on Main Street.
In October 1844 Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at Spencer County Courthouse to promote Henry Clay, Whig presidential candidate. Lincoln, during his first trip to Indiana in 14 years, was a guest at the Tavern. Site first marked October 28, 1926. — — Map (db m47356) HM
Near Main Street east of North 3rd Street, on the right when traveling east.
To commemorate our bicentennial year, this plaque is dedicated in honor of Captain Spier Spencer for whom Spencer County was named. He was a hero who lost his life at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811. — — Map (db m243594) HM
On North Fairground Drive north of Fairground Drive - Entrance, on the left when traveling north.
War drew us from our homeland
in the sunlit springtime of our youth.
Those who did not come back alive
remain in perpetual springtime —
forever young — and a part of us
is with them always.
Donald Harrison . . . — — Map (db m47460) WM
Near East Christmas Boulevard (Indiana Route 162) at Indiana Route 245, on the right when traveling west.
In 1984, Santa Claus Land's named changed to Holiday World. The expanded park celebrated Christmas, Halloween and the 4th of July holidays. The beloved train was renamed the Freedom Train. and continued to delight generations of riders until its . . . — — Map (db m177084) HM
Near East Christmas Boulevard (Indiana Route 162) at Indiana Route 245, on the right when traveling west.
Mother Goose characters have delighted visitors since Santa Claus Land's opening in 1946. Originally located in individual dioramas, the concrete statues were relocated to span the route of thee Santa Claus land railroad in the 1950s to provide . . . — — Map (db m176726) HM
Near East Christmas Boulevard (Indiana Route 162) at Indiana Route 245, on the right when traveling west.
Santa Claus Land founder Louis J. Kock was a train aficionado. He hired Ted Buehn, a model train enthusiast, to build the Santa Claus Land Railroad for the park's first season. A ¼-scale model of a Baltimore & Ohio locomotive, the train was . . . — — Map (db m176725) HM
On East Christmas Boulevard (Indiana Route 162) 0.2 miles west of Indiana Route 245, on the right when traveling west.
American Coaster Enthusiast (ACE) recognizes The Raven at Holiday World & Splashin's Safari as an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark, a designation reserved for rides of historic significance.
In an age when . . . — — Map (db m176790) HM
Near Parking Lot of "Lincoln Ferry Park" (State Road 66) at County Road 1290E.
Do you want to experience the world of young Abe Lincoln? You’ve come to the right place. At Lincoln Ferry Park, just west of Troy, the Lincoln family arrived by ferry from Kentucky in 1816. Young Abe Lincoln walked these woods with his long, . . . — — Map (db m47543) HM
On East County Road 800 North (State Road 66) at County Road 1290E, on the left when traveling west on East County Road 800 North.
Lincoln (1809-1865) lived northwest of here 1816-1830. Worked circa 1825 as hired hand for James Taylor. William Herndon, a Lincoln biographer, wrote that Lincoln told him it "was the roughest work a young man could be made to do." He butchered, did . . . — — Map (db m47544) HM
On Indiana Route 66 just east of County Road 1290E, on the right when traveling east.
These markers were funded with a grant from Federal Highway Administration through the National Scenic Byways Program.
The Hoosier National Forest - Then and Now
This area has been inhabited continuously by humans for 12,000 years. . . . — — Map (db m178232) HM
