Lincoln Home National Historic Site

The only home Abraham Lincoln ever owned stands at the corner of Eighth and Jackson Streets in Springfield, Illinois. Lincoln bought the house in 1844 and lived here with Mary Todd Lincoln and their sons for 17 years, until he left for Washington as president-elect in 1861. Three of the couple's four sons were born while the family lived here, and their son Edward died here in 1850.

The house began as a modest cottage and was enlarged to a full two storeys in 1856. Restored to its appearance in the Lincolns' time, it holds period furnishings along with some pieces that belonged to the family. The surrounding blocks preserve the neighbourhood as Lincoln knew it, with restored nineteenth-century houses lining streets closed to traffic.

Robert Todd Lincoln gave the house to the State of Illinois in 1887, and it has been a National Historic Site since 1971. More than 450,000 people visit each year, and it suits anyone interested in Lincoln's life before the presidency.