My Land of Lincoln posts were inspired by our April visit to
Springfield, Illinois. Previous posts showed you Abraham Lincoln's permanent tomb and his first temporary tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery. We began
the 3-part tour of Abraham Lincoln's home in a post last week that talked about the visitor center and his neighborhood.
We then entered Abraham Lincoln's home through the front
door and saw the front hall/foyer, the parlor to the left, and the dining room.
We'll pick up the tour today by beginning in the sitting room.
The sitting room is to your right as you enter the front door and can also be accessed from the dining room. The sitting room is where the boys played and the Lincoln family spent the majority of their family time. Here is a sketch showing how the sitting room appeared in early 1861.
The 1860's sketches helped to determine how the Lincoln home
looked at the time they lived there. Some color choices may be considered a bit
loud today, but Mary Lincoln's decor was fashionable in the mid-1800's - certainly
not extravagant, however.
Although there are some items in the home documented as to
have actually belonged to the family, most of the furnishings did not. When Abraham
& Mary Lincoln moved to the White House, some of their household
furnishings were given away, but most were sold at a private sale. The family
who then rented the Lincoln home purchased several of their furniture pieces
and took those items with them when they later moved to Chicago - only to be lost
in the great Chicago fire of 1871.
Care has been taken to use period antiques and to replicate
the Lincoln furnishings where possible. The original carpeting, window
treatments and wallpaper no longer exist. Some window treatments and wallpaper you
see in the home are replicas of the originals. Some are not reproductions, but
are faithful to the period.
Did you notice the toy drum on the table in the last photo?
The home is decorated for Christmas in December, and Lincoln family birthdays
are also marked. The day following our visit would have been the birthday of
Thomas "Tad" Lincoln - the youngest son of Abraham & Mary
Lincoln. The drum represents a birthday gift Tad could have been given in
1860.
Oops! Here's another crooked candle that I really wanted to straighten!
None of the furniture in the sitting
room looks very comfortable - especially for someone of Abraham Lincoln's
height. No wonder he often chose to sit on the floor in this room.
The tour now heads upstairs via the staircase in the foyer.
At the top of the steps, there's a small sitting area in
front of you, and the guest room is on your left.
The guest room is a large, comfortable room with green & white wallpaper and green blinds at the windows.
Their overnight guests had their own washstand and chamber
pot.
That's Mary Lincoln's actual shawl on the fainting couch.
The shawl makes seasonal appearances in the home.
Let's head across the hall into Abraham Lincoln's bedroom.
The wallpaper in this room is an accurate reproduction. I zoomed in closely, as
the beautiful blue is difficult to see in wider shots.
The next 3 items are said to have belonged to Mr. Lincoln -
this wardrobe,
this bureau,
and this small desk in the corner.
Unfortunately, this isn't Abraham Lincoln's original bed,
but they believe this was his shaving mirror.
Here's a look back to the front of the room. You can see the
small sitting area in the hallway.
Mary Lincoln's room adjoins her husband's room and has the same wallpaper.
Abraham & Mary Lincoln did not always have separate
bedrooms. Separate bedrooms were a luxury one would acquire as finances made it
possible.
The younger boys would sleep in their mother's room in a
trundle bed until oldest son, Robert, moved out to further his education.
Our guide told us that Mary Lincoln would be horrified to
know that tourists were making inquires about her chamber pot. Yes, I was the
one who asked about it! This is a pretty great chamber pot, though. Don't you
think?
Mary Lincoln suffered from migraine headaches, so I'm sure
she often retreated to this pleasant, darkened room when she was feeling ill.
That concludes the second part of my Lincoln home tour.
We'll see the rest of the upstairs, head back down to the kitchen, and out to
the backyard in the final installment in this series.
