Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park Near Hodgenville Kentucky

Abraham Lincoln Birthplace Memorial
Hodgenville, Kentucky

Fifty-six steps lead to this memorial the people of the United States built to honor Abraham Lincoln, the martyred sixteenth president. Each step represents a year of his life and sixteen windows in the memorial represent the number of his presidency. The cornerstone for this first memorial to President Lincoln was laid by President Theodore Roosevelt on February 12, 1909, the 100^th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. It was dedicated by President William Howard Taft on November 9, 1911 eleven years before the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in Washington, D.C. The memorial was paid for by public donations given to The Lincoln Farm Association in amounts not smaller than 25 cents nor larger than $25. The Board of Trustees of the Association included such notables as President Taft, Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain), and Samuel Gompers, the founder of the American Federation Of Labor (AFL). This National Park includes a cabin, housed within the memorial, symbolizing the one Lincoln was born in on this site. 

    

      Thomas, Nancy, Sarah, & Abraham Lincoln
     Statues at Lincoln Birthplace Museum

Just inside the doors of the visitors center, this life-size set of statues serve to remind us that before he was the "Great Emancipator", he was once a baby born in Hodgenville, Kentucky on February 12, 1809.

After visiting this memorial, travel about thirty minutes to Bardstown, Kentucky and have a meal at the historic Old Talbott Tavern. Built in 1779, the tavern is "the oldest western stagecoach stop still in operation". Lincoln and his family stayed in rooms above the tavern, when he was five years old.

In addition, legend has it, that the outlaw Jesse James shot several holes in a mural painted on a second floor wall because he thought the birds were moving when he had too many drinks at the tavern. The bullet holes are still there.