Group to sell tiny pieces of Lincoln land

LERNA -- The owners of farmland once owned by Abraham Lincoln want to give people a chance to own a little piece of history -- a very little piece.

The Friends of the Abraham Lincoln Historical Farm plans to sell tiny parcels of the land, probably a square inch or so, said Dale Parsons, manager of the Rockford-based group.

Some of the money would go to charities and some of the land may be reserved for charities to buy and resell during fundraisers, Parsons said Thursday.

"You will own a piece of this property," he said. He was not sure how many parcels would be sold, but noted there are more than 6 million square inches in an acre.

The land is near the Coles County community of Lerna and not far from the Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, which is the 1840s home of the former president's father.

Lincoln bought the land from his father, Thomas Lincoln, who needed the money. Thomas Lincoln continued farming the land.

The Friends group bought the land last fall for $1.25 million from Raymond Phipps, a Springfield man whose family owned the property for more than a century.

A similar plan to sell square-inch parcels of the land several years ago by Phipps led to a legal squabble over unpaid taxes. Parsons said his group has hired real estate experts to avoid similar problems.

The group also has hired a history professor to write a book about the location, and hopes to restore a cabin on the site and turn it into a visitors center, Parsons said.