WE’VE BEEN DRIVING THROUGH CORN AND SOYBEANS for so long I am considering buying some bib overalls and a John Deere hat. The 3 I states aren’t all farms — this is Lincoln Land, too. Back when Honest Abe was an unknown country lawyer and circuit judge, he traveled this same country from his and Mary’s home in Springfield, meeting out justice. Lucky for us — and all Americans — their son Todd, arranged to have the family home preserved as the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. And he insisted that it would always be free to visit. The entire neighborhood around 413 S. 8th Street retains the character of Springfield in the 1850s with characters to match.
Lincoln Land, Springfield IL Abe's famous stovepipe hat
Lincoln is famous for guiding the country through the Civil War. Herbert Hoover is often blamed for leading the world into the Great Depression. Neither the Hoover Library or the Herbert Hoover National Historic Site went into detail about the Depression but Hoover’s birthplace is well preserved. And like Springfield, West Branch IA is much like it was 100 years ago.
Hoover's Childhood Home, West Branch IA
