Lerna: Lincoln's last stop in state before White House

If visiting east central Illinois is more convenient for you or if you don't get enough Lincoln from visiting Springfield, you might want to make another field trip with your family to Lerna, 8 miles south of Charleston and Eastern Illinois University.

That is where you will find the last home and farm of Abraham Lincoln's father, Thomas, and stepmother Sarah Bush Lincoln. They moved there in 1837 when Abraham was living in New Salem and, later, Springfield.

The site, which has been owned by the state since 1929 and is now run by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Lincoln-Sargent Farm Foundation, features two living history farms (the Thomas Lincoln Farm and the Stephen Sargent Farm) that recreate agricultural practices of the 1840s in Illinois and the home of Lincoln's stepsister where he visited to say farewell to family on his way to his inauguration, according to the Lincoln Log Cabin website, lincolnlogcabin.org.

At the farms, visitors can see about 10 acres planted with crops typical of the 1840s and they will also get to see teams of oxen and horses working, as well as sheep and razor-back-style hogs.

Costumed interpreters demonstrate agricultural tasks of the time period which would have been carried out by Thomas Lincoln and his stepchildren. A replica of his home (built in 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, based on photographs and affidavits), sits on the site of the original cabin. The original cabin was lost after it was moved to Chicago's Columbian Exposition in 1892.

Near the replica cabin is a large 19th century barn, moved to the site in 1981, and a number of reproduction structures such as a root cellar, log smokehouse, animal pens and a well.

At the Sargent Farm visitors can see the practices of a progressive farmer who was strongly influenced by agricultural literature of the time.

There is also a reconstructed house and many outbuildings here. A visitor's center with auditorium and a picnic area are adjacent.

One mile north of the Lincoln Farm you can also visit the Reuben Moore Home State Historic Site. Moore married Abraham Lincoln's stepsister, Matilda Hall. It was a second marriage for both of them, and they had five children between them.

It was to this house that Abraham Lincoln came in January 1861 to have a meal and bid farewell to his stepmother on his way to the White House since his father had already died. The Moore House features a restored interior with stenciled walls and lovely pieces from the 1860s.

Thomas Lincoln and Sarah Bush Lincoln are both buried in nearby Shiloh Cemetery.

Admission to all of these sites is free, but there is a suggested donation of $10 per family or $4 for adults and $2 for children.

For more information, call (217) 345-1845.