Lincoln’s Final Resting Spot

No visit to the Springfield, Illinois is complete without seeing at least one or two Abraham Lincoln historical sites. Of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln home and his grave, the most moving, in my opinion, are the last two. The Presidential Museum is educational and attractive, but you feel Lincoln’s presence much more touring the home he lived in when he left to become President and at his Tomb in the Oak Ridge Cemetery.

The Lincoln Tomb is even more beautiful on the inside, though it’s easy to feel a sense of awe when you stare at it before entering. At the Tomb entrance, (along with other statues and the obelisk) you’ll notice a bronze reproduction of the Gutzon Borglum’s marble head of Lincoln on display in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Inside, the rooms are finished in highly polished marble with bronze trim.

Before entering the burial chamber, you’ll see reproductions of Lincoln statues and excerpts from speeches like the Gettysburg Address. Lincoln’s wife and three sons also rest in the Tomb.

The Lincoln Tomb is located at 1441 Monument Ave and is open 9 am to 5 pm each day from May until September 7. If you visit earlier or later in the year, the Tomb is closed on Sunday and Monday. It closes at 4 pm December through February. For more information, contact the Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-545-7300.

If you can’t make it in person, can take a virtual tour of the grounds of Oak Ridge Cemetery and also see inside the Tomb.

(Image via Peggy Rowland)