In no other state or city have I seen the recognition and reverence given to a leading citizen as the state of Illinois and the city of Springfield toward Abraham Lincoln. After a brief stop in Galena to see the home of Ulysses S. Grant and the great celebration they make of a place Grant had lived in for only a brief time…

…I should have expected the honor Illinoisans would give their most notable resident. (Not native son–Lincoln was born in Kentucky, but Illinoisans easily overlook that detail.)

Lincoln’s Springfield home, where he lived for 17 years when he was raising his family and practicing law in Springfield is preserved along with a substantial amount of the surrounding neighborhood in a manner that rivals the historical accuracy and charm of Williamsburg, VA.

And you can envision him walking down the few blocks of cobbled streets to the Old State House where he argued in the courts.

Of course, the Capitol has the most Lincoln statuary, starting with a nearly life size statue of him as a young man found in front of the Capitol entrance. It makes him appear as an ordinary man, accessible to everyone.

The Capitol is grand within, especially now that one can view the stunning glass dome constructed of 9,000 pieces. In 1886, when it was first built, it was lit with 144 gas lamps. The carbon from the lamps blackened the glass and it wasn’t viewed in its original state until  it was cleaned in 1986 for its centennial. In the rotunda, statues of Lincoln and Douglas stand as if perpetually in debate.

The final honors are found a few miles north of the Capitol at Oak Ridge Cemetery, where Lincoln’s Tomb now holds the bodies of Lincoln, his wife and three of their sons.