Illinois Funds New Salem Repairs

By Ed Epstein

Washington, D.C.

Saturday, March 29, 2025

The state of Illinois says it will spend $8 million to repair some of the structures at New Salem, the state park that recreates the small settlement where Abraham Lincoln spent his young manhood before moving to Springfield about 20 miles away.

Historical preservationists have long been worried about conditions at the state park, which gets about 375,000 visitors annually. Even the injection of new state money to repair 23 log buildings and an outdoor amphitheater has not quieted concerns. New legislation in the Illinois state legislature would, among other things, provide $5 million for work at New Salem and create a New Salem Preservation Commission to come up with plans for the historic village.

“New Salem holds a special place in Lincoln’s story, but as the site deteriorates, it discourages visitors from learning about this time in his life which led him to his destiny of becoming one of our nation’s greatest presidents,” Gina Gillmore-Wolter, New Salem Lincoln League president said, in a statement announcing the legislation.

The recreation of the village where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837 was built during the Depression by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal program that provided jobs and skills training to young men who otherwise would have been unemployed. They built the 23 log structures that show how villagers in the 1830s lived, along with the 500-seat outdoor amphitheater. There is also a visitors center and a 250-seat auditorium.

Reenactors portray New Salem residents of the 1830s for visitors.

While he lived in New Salem, Lincoln worked as a shopkeeper, surveyor, postmaster, and rail splitter. He also spent a few months as a soldier in the Blackhawk War. fighting with local Indians, although he did not see any combat. He also ran for the state legislature a few times, winning election in 1834. He moved to Springfield in 1837 to improve his political prospects and set himself up as a lawyer.

He resided in Springfield, practiced law, married Mary Todd, and fathered four sons until February 11, 1861, the day before his birthday, when he left for the long rail journey bound for Washington, D.C. to take the presidential oath of office on March 4, 1861. He never returned to Springfield alive.

Photo from the New Salem State Park