973.7L63 New Salem Village: C3P77n Photographic Views and 1951 Brief Historical Sketch of New Salem State Park, Lincoln f s New Salem, Illinois LINCOLN ROOM UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS LIBRARY MEMORIAL the Class of 1901 founded by HARLAN HOYT HORNER and HENRIETTA CALHOUN HORNER Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2012 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign http://archive.org/details/newsalemvillagep03pond NEW SALEM VILLAGE *** Photographic Views and Brief Historical Sketch of New Salem State Park Lincoln's New Salem, Illinois PRICE 25c MEM** ONSTOT'S CA&!« omstots coonn shop TRENT B>RO'S. CABIN A MILLER- KELSO CABIN 3 MILLERS BLACKSMITH 3M0P €. ROBERT JOKNJON'S CABIN 7 ISAAC COLLIMER'J CASiM A MARTIN WAOOELL'S CA&IN » ISAAC BURNER'S CA6IN 10 DR.FRANCI3 RECNIERS CABIN 11 SAMUEL HILL'S CABIN l» MILL- MC NAMAR STORE 13 SECOND DSRRT- LINCOLN 3TOR8. 14 site or nrst berry-limcolw store 15 PETER LUKIN'S CASiN IS. DR. JOHN ALLEN'S CABIN 17 RU7LE0CE TAVERN IS ROW HLRNOEN'3 CABSW IS DENTON OrfUTT'S STORE 10 CLARY'S CROCERT 2! MILL Site. = PARK DRIVES AND HIGHWAYS :".-.- PRrvATE SERVICE DRIVE* WALKS AND FOOT TRAILS ^^STIUflM CQ^WOQOeD A&tA DEDICATION To the Division of Parks and Memorials, National Park Service and Old Salem Lincoln League of Petersburg, which under the direction of the Depart- ment of Public Works and Build- ings of the State of Illinois, has brought about the re- creation of the village of New Salem, we dedi- cate this booklet. Copyright 1938 by Ira E. Owen Petersburg. Illinois Ninth Edition 1951 Printed By The Petersburg Observer Co. NEW SALEM VILLAGE Photographic Views and Brief Historical Sketch of New Salem State Park Lincoln's New Salem, Illinois The Wagon Wheel Inn New Salem State Park It is the intention to give you briefly a few facts regarding the Wagon Wheel Inn, in an effort to acquaint you with the facilities it has to offer, the surroundings and the unusual atmosphere, which places the Wagon Wheel in a class distinctively its own. The Wagon Wheel Inn, located at the entrance to New Salem State Park, was erected in 1936 by the State of Illinois, for the convenience of the many visitors who come each year to pay homage to the immortal Abraham Lincoln. As the visitor approaches the Wagon Wheel, he is impressed by the spacious log structure, similar to the buildings of Lincoln's New Salem. He is further impressed by the natural setting of unusual trees — "trees which may in summer wear" nests of many rare birds; hillsides carpeted with lovely wild flowers; picturesque views in all directions, and a babbling brook on one side. The visitor is greeted by the hostess fittingly attired, and is graciously ushered to his choice table. Once inside, one feels he has turned back the pages of history to the early years of the nineteenth century, for here is true hospitality, coupled with a calm and quiet, found only at the Wagon Wheel of Lincoln's New Salem. While the Wagon Wheel is rustic and rugged in character, the facilities for the preparation and serving of food are very modern. There are 3 separate dining rooms, with a total seating capacity of 130 which are ideal for private parties, luncheons or banquets. The modern kitchens and pantries make it possible to render fast, efficient and quiet service. Linens of indigo blue and turkey red and china of an early English pattern, to- gether with lanterns hanging from oxbows and wagon wheels, take the guest back to that New Salem of a century ago. Also adding atmosphere are huge fireplaces in every room, their mantles decked with antiques of the period. The waitresses are attired in styles of the New Salem period, in a further effort to bring to you a true and accurate picture of the village as it was when Lincoln trod its paths. The services to be had at the Wagon Wheel are many— Dinner Service from $1.65 to $2.50 is available every day of the week. Children's portions served. Luncheon Service from 85c to $1.50 is available every day except Sundays and holidays when only complete dinners are served. Suggested menus for any occasion will be submitted upon request. A complete line of souvenirs, gifts, cards, booklets and books, on the life of Abraham Lincoln will also be found here. The Wagon Wheel visitor will find the hostess and all attendants well informed and happy to assist in making your visit to "Lincoln's New Salem" a cherished memory. y Ao NEW SALEM VILLAGE -,::■""" ,;,;•' ' w I SALEM VILLAGE By Fern Nance Pond, Petersburg, Illinois ■» ij ^L, tfUJ^ 'jtaJZcdu fa«jLu- t- " l^ It is important to remember that the Abraham Lincoln of ^ ^4 )j the six New Salem years came as a youth barely 22 years of -p, age, practically unschooled and as he described himself, "a j>oor friendless youth working on a flat boat at ten dollars a It is also important to know how Abraham Lincoln lived from the time he became a citizen of New Salem in 1831, until six years later when he left for Springfield to become a prac- ticing attorney. Deep impressions were made upon the mind and charac- ter of the young man by his experiences, his environment and his New Salem friends and neighbors during those formative years. The restored log cabin village, located in New Salem State Park near Petersburg, Illinois presents in faithful detail V ' 4 /r i this environment. Was New Salem a providential place designed by a "divinity that shapes our ends" to attract a wandering young rail splitter to settle there in order that he might find himself? By 1835 the village reached its peak, containing some twenty- five cabins, and possibly one hundred fifty or two hundred people. By the early 1840's only a few cabins remained and Jhe people departed^ many of the settlers moving two miles north to Petersburg which became the county seat of the newly formed Menard County in 1839. The scene which greeted young Lincoln's eye upon his arrival in the village in 1831, included some ten or a dozen buildings. Two millwrights, Rev. John Camron and his uncle James Hutledge, decided to construct a mill on the Sangamon River point near more densely populated settlements. In Camron entered the eighty acres on which the village ids. The next year the partners had Reuben Harrison make a survey of the site nearest the Sangamon River, platting town lots and blocks which they planned to sell to newcomers. ay called the platted tract New Salem. The proprietors reasoned that the mill would draw people for trade as they brought their grain to the grist mill and had their lumber sawed at the same place. James Rutledge erected a log structure of four rooms with which he used as his residence and a lodging place for until early 1833. The Rutledge residence was the : of the stage coach arrivals, being adjacent to the Held road and also to the roads leading to Beardstown and "'nvana. • NEW SALEM VILLAGE Samuel Hill of New Jersey and John "McNeil" of New York, (whose real name was McNamar) arrived in 1829. built a store where they sold general merchandise and enjoyed an unusual prosperity. The U. S. Government established a post office on Christmas day, 1829, and Samuel Hill was ap- pointed post-master. John McNamar sold his interest in the store partnership to Hill about 1832, and soon after went to the State of New York for a visit with Lis people. It is alleged that he was a suitor for the hand of Ann Rutledge, but he did not return to the New Salem community until after her death in August, 1835. Dr. John Allen, a graduate of Dartmouth College, came in 1830 and later constructed a three room log cabin across the street from the Hill-McNamar store, where he ministered to the sick and afflicted. He organized the New Salem Tem- perance Society and was the first to conduct Sunday School services in the village. About 1830, Henry Onstot established his residence and cooper shop, probably the first industry aside from the mill. The settlers used his tubs, buckets and barrels for many pur- poses, and the merchants also used his barrels and hogsheads for shipping their meats and other produce down the river to market. About the same year William Clary started a "grocery" en the bluff overlooking the river and specialized in retailing liquor to the festively inclined gentlemen. Philemon Morris operated a tannery, Joshua Miller, the blacksmith, gave the village a much needed industry, and George Warburton, who later founded Petersburg in partner- ship with Peter Lukins, operated a store. At the request of a peculiar character, Denton Offut, young Lincoln with his cousin John Hanks, and his step-brother John D. Johnston, started a voyage down the Sangamon River to New Orleans and their flatboat stranded on the Rutledge- Camron Mill dam near New Salem. The villagers aided the party in releasing the boat, and thus Lincoln became acquaint- ed with his future neighbors. Dreamers may conjecture what might have happened had the party proceeded down the river without the New Salem interruption. Denton Offut decided to start a store at New Salem, bought a stock of goods at St. Louis, and on July 8th, 1831, secured a license from the Sangamon County Commissioners to sell Merchandise. He built a log cabin on the bluff near the Clary "grocery" and employed Abraham Lincoln as a clerk in August of that year, while Offut himself spent most of his time elsewhere. The business failed to thrive and was closed after several months. • NEW SALEM VILLAGE The spring of 1832 found Lincoln without regular employ- ment, but he occupied himself at odd jobs. He announced his candidacy for the legislature, he collected accounts due Offut, and when the Black Hawk War started in April he helped organize a company to fight the Indians and was elected its captain. Returning from a rather drab military experience two weeks before election, he resumed his campaign at once, but was defeated in spite of the fact that his friends of the New Salem Precinct gave him 277 out of the 300 votes cast. Later through the medium of William G. Greene, Lincoln joined with William F. Berry in buying the Reuben Radford stock of goods, thus becoming a merchant in his own right, but not a successful one. With the firm debts unpaid, he sold his interest in the store to Berry. In May of 1833, he was appointed postmaster with an income that was a mere pittance. He clerked in Samuel Hill's store. About the same time he was appointed deputy county surveyor which added to his income. The postoffice was dis- continued in 1836, but Lincoln continued to survey roads and towns until his admission to the bar and his departure for Springfield in 1837. A new and challenging world opened for Lincoln when in 1834, at the age of 25, he was elected a representative in the Illinois General Assembly, an event that initiated his ultimate separation from New Salem. At New Salem Lincoln found an atmosphere which en- couraged him to make the most of books and learning. He read good books, he studied law and adopted his sound phi- losophies. He learned men. He achieved the distinction ex- pressed in the sobriquet, "Honest Abe." He lived the six New Salem years in a manner that earned for him the respect of his e'oneer friends and neighbors who knew his peculiarities and nitations and yet admired him. With the competition of trade at Petersburg, it was inevit- able that New Salem would disappear. The site of the village was purchased and held by Jacob Bale and others of his family, and for many years was used for agricultural purposes. New Salem became a ghost village, abandoned by its residents, but not by Lincoln devotees who saw in its restora- tion the possibility of founding a unique shrine. About the turn of the century the Old Salem Chautauqua Park was located across the Sangamon River from the village. The leaders of the Association induced the Honorable William Randolph Hearst, the publisher, to speak at their assembly in the summer of 1906. On a rainy day they guided him to the one-time home of the Great Emancipator and convinced him of the value of preserving the site for the public. Mr. Hearst's visit resulted in his purchase of the sixty acres comprising the original town site at a cost of $11,000.00, and his gift of the land by deed to the Old Salem Chautauqua Association of Petersburg. • NEW SALEM VILLAGE In 1917, the Old Salem Lincoln League of Petersburg was organized for the purpose of restoring New Salem to the ap- pearance it had in the day when Abraham Lincoln walked its street. The next year the League erected replicas of seven or eight log cabins on their original sites, marked roads and trails, and carried on extensive studies in research. In 1919 the site was conveyed to the State of Illinois and became a State park. The Henry Onstot cooper shop is the only original building in the village. In 1840 the shop was moved to Petersburg, where it remained until 1922, when, after making proof of its identity, the Old Salem Lincoln League bought it at Court sale, gave it to the State of Illinois, and moved the building to its original location on New Salem hill. After many years of research and investigation of every known source, surveys were made, and excavations proved authenticity of cabin sites. Thirteen cabins were completed and furnished in the fall of 1933 with formal dedication cere- monies. In 1937 three additional cabins were constructed with dedication ceremonies centering around the RutLedge Inn. After a lapse of 104 years, on February 12, 1940, a United States Post Office, named Lincoln's New Salem, was author- ized and dedicated by Postmaster General James A. Farley. In the ensuing years the Joshua Miller blacksmith shop, the Herndon Brothers residence and store, the Rutledge- Camron mill and the Samuel Hill carding mill have been erected on their original sites. The building of stables and smoke houses, the planting of gardens and other improve- ments are under way, and with some two or three cabins yet to be built, the restoration is nearing completion. With the additional land purchased at various times by the State of Illinois, the Park area now includes about three hundred acres. The Petersburg Old Salem Lincoln League was commis- sioned by the State of Illinois to provide the furnishings for the restored cabins. The collection comprises around 5,000 pioneer articles and is believed to be the largest collection of its kind. Powerful impressions were made upon the soul of young Abraham Lincoln in this village, and it is most fitting that New Salem restored in a material way should stand as a me- morial to the development of the strong personality which eventually made him not only a national but a world figure. ■== • HEW SALEM VILLAGE ONSTOT COOPER SHOP Henry Onstot erected his second cooper shop toward the west end of the village about 1834. Abraham Lincoln and Isaac Onstot, the eldest son were friends and studied together here by the light of the cooper's shavings. JOSHUA MILLER BLACKSMITH SHOP Joshua Miller, village and community blacksmith, carried on a flourishing busi- ness here, shoeing horses, "ironing" wagons and farm implements. The ring of his anvil was a familiar sound in New Salem and was heard for many hours each day. • NEW SALEM VILLAGE MILLER and KELSO CABIN The home of Jack Kelso who was a brother-in-law of the blacksmith Joshua Miller. Kelso liked to hunt and fish and to read books. He and Abraham Lincoln read to- gether books on poetry, history and theories of government and the American Revo- lution. HILL'S CARDING MILL and WOOL HOUSE Samuel Hill erected this carding mill in 1835. The power was furnished by two oxen treading the circular inclined wheel on the north side. The excavations disclosed all the former post holes and machinery pits and the restoration occupies the id ^ntical original locations. NEW SALEM VILLAGE HILL McNAMAR STORE Samuel Hill erected New Salem's first store in 1829. He conducted the enterprise with John McNamar (who at that time assumed the name McNeil) until 1832 but from that time on he operated the store alone. In 1839 he moved to Petersburg. ,gm g? RUTLEDGE TAVERN The loft or half story served as a large bedroom for the men guests. When Lincoln boarded at the Tavern he slept in the loft. • NEW SALEM VILLAGE ■ FIRST BERRY - LINCOLN STORE First Berry & Lincoln store. Berry & Lincoln bought this store from the Herndon Brothers and occupied it a short time. This building now houses the U. S. Post Office, bearing the official name of Lincoln's New Salem, Illinois. GENERAL VIEW OF NEW SALEM General view of New Salem State Park, showing from left to right, the Dr. Allen residence, the Dr. Regnier residence, the Hill residence and the Hill-McNamar store. NEW SALEM VILLAGE HERNDON RESH>ENCE Rowan Herndon and his brother James, cousins of William Herndon, who later was Lincoln's partner, and one of his biographers, built this residence about 1831. While clerking at Offut's store, Lincoln took his meals with the Herndons in this home. * -ff" ■•-■-«v- SCHOOL and CHURCH The Mentor Graham School House where he conducted a subscription school. The building was also used for religious services. NEW SALEM VILLAGE RUTLEDGE TAVERN The combined cooking and dining room of the Rutledge Tavern. James Rutledge and family occupied this house 1828-1833 when the family moved to the Sandridge farm. Lincoln boarded with the Rutledges and slept in the loft which was the large room for the Rutledge boys and men lodgers. RUTLEDGE TAVERN The lean-to bedroom of the Rutledge Tavern. Beds are hand turned, of cherry and hard maple, with woven rope supports for the bedding. NEW SALEM VILLAGE RECONSTRUCTED MILL Above is the combined saw mill and grist mill at New Salem State Park. The present mill was erected on the site of the original mill built in 1829-30, by James Rutledge and John Camron. UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 973.7L63C3P77N1951 C001 NEW SALEM VILLAGE 9TH ED PETERSBURG, 3 0112 031804427