Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace, July 5

Home of Abe's boyhood friend
at Knob Creek

I continued on my way north to Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace National Historical Park, a very beautiful drive.  I was glad to be heading to a site that memorialized a person whose actions and ideals  make me proud to be an American.  My earlier trip on the Natchez Trace Parkway highlighted historical facts that make me ashamed (slavery, Civil War, and the relocation of Native Americans).  So, emotionally, the change was very welcome.

Knob Creek

As expected, Lincoln was born in a small log cabin on February 12, 1809.  Although many people think he was born in Illinois, he was actually born near Hodgenville, Kentucky at Sinking Spring.  On the grounds is a beautiful memorial building in which a replica of that log cabin is enclosed.  Unfortunately, the building was under restoration and I didn't get to go inside.

At the time of his birth, Lincoln's parents were upper middle-class farmers.  Due to a dispute over land ownership, however, they lost the farm and moved to lease acreage at Knob Creek, KY.  At this site remains the log house of his boyhood friend.  From here, Lincoln reports his earliest memories -- his friend saving his life from a swollen creek, the death of his baby sister, and planting pumpkins seeds only to watch the floods wash them away.

I especially liked the Knob Creek site.  The creek itself was barely at a trickle when I was there.  It was fun to wade in with bare feet, cooling off from the heat and humidity, turning rocks over to find crawdads, imagening young Abe doing the same.  Can you find the crawdad in the last picture?

Also, the Knob Creek farm is likely where Lincoln saw slaves for the first time, being led it shackles down the road in front of his home.  He lived there from age 2 and a half to almost 8 years old.

originally posted 7/28/10