With the Fourth of July this week, we are connecting with our nation’s and state’s history! This week for Stephens Summer Scenes, I’ve compiled state historic sites to visit during the summer. Here are just a few places you can visit, but you can find the whole list online here!
Galena – Ulysses S. Grant Home
Learn more about President Ulysses S. Grant and his life at the Italianate structure known as the U.S. Grant Home that was built in 1859-60 as a residence by Alexander J. Jackson of Galena. Grant was presented the house as a Civil War hero. He used the home as his official political and voting address, living there with his family during his 1868 presidential campaign, then for a few brief periods during his presidency and retirement.
Find more information online here!
If you want to make it a trip, find more information from Enjoy Illinois here!
Chicago – Pullman National Historical Park & State Historic Site
In a growing Chicago neighborhood, diverse people and stories intertwined. All were seeking opportunity. Some succeeded. Others were limited—by race, gender, or economic status. Their stories came together in Pullman, a planned industrial community famed for its urban design and architecture.
Find more information online here!
Galesburg – Carl Sandburg Historic Site
The birthplace of Carl Sandburg, this small frame home and “workingman’s cottage” contains three rooms—parlor, bedroom, and kitchen. Poet, author, and Lincoln biographer Carl Sandburg was born in this house on January 6, 1878. Several original family items are on display and behind the cottage is a tranquil garden where Sandburg and his wife’s ashes lie beneath a red granite boulder, “Remembrance Rock.”
Find more information online here!
Springfield – Lincoln Tomb
In the heart of our country and on the edge of the city he called home is the final resting place of President Abraham Lincoln, his wife, and three of their children. The Lincoln Tomb honors the memory of our nation’s greatest president and those who struggled with him toward a new birth of freedom.
Find more information online here!
Vandalia – Vandalia State House
The fourth Illinois statehouse served as the capitol from 1836 to 1839 and is the oldest surviving capitol building in the state. Preceded by Kaskaskia and followed by Springfield, this is significant for its association with Abraham Lincoln, who served in the House of Representatives.
Find more information online here!
Southern Illinois – Lincoln Trail Memorial
The Lincoln Trail State Memorial marks the location where, according to tradition, Abraham Lincoln entered Illinois with his family in early March 1830.
Find more information online here!