The rain cleared out overnight, and breezy blue skies greeted us in Louisville downtown. With coins in the meter on 5th Street, we had time to walk along the Ohio River; down Main Street, home of the Louisville Slugger where all the baseball bats are made; around Waterfront Park and the Convention Center and back through downtown.
At 65 degrees, it was lovely in Louisville.
"There I grew up." Those were Abraham Lincoln's own words about the Indiana frontier where he lived for 14 years from age 7 to 21. We sat at a picnic table after all our hiking and exploring, enjoying the sunshine and brisk fall air. Dry leaves rained down, skittering across the parking lot, crunching under foot.
"I find it so difficult to picture this as wilderness," I told Andy.
"It would have been all cut down," he answered. "Thomas Lincoln cleared all this for farming to grow corn."
"No, I mean the woods. When the Lincolns arrived here from Kentucky, they were greeted by bears, panthers and wolves."
A little snake wiggled past my feet. Andy didn't see this one either. But he was the first to say, "Quick, take a picture" and later "Check it out with the ranger." A little searching confirmed it as a common green snake, and the dark one we spotted two days ago was a grey rat snake.
In 1928, Lincoln got a job on a flatboat loaded with produce that was floating down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. That same year his sister Sarah died in childbirth.
"I find it so difficult to picture this as wilderness," I told Andy."It would have been all cut down," he answered. "Thomas Lincoln cleared all this for farming to grow corn."
"No, I mean the woods. When the Lincolns arrived here from Kentucky, they were greeted by bears, panthers and wolves."
"Wilderness," he said.
"Yes, and we sit next to a parking lot, at a picnic table, by an ornate wrought iron fence, listening to a freight train rumble by. The contrast is remarkable."
Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Little Pigeon Creek in 1816, arriving at his 160-acre claim site in December, after clearing a trail ahead of them to drive the wagon and family through. Thomas, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Sarah (age 9), and Abraham (age 7) moved from Kentucky to the new frontier, attracted by rich land, the security of the Federal Land Ordinance of 1785 about property ownership and the absence of slavery.
Two years later on October 5, 1818, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of milk sickness, poisoning from drinking milk or eating a milk product or the meat from a cow that had ingested any part of the white snakeroot plant. The deadly toxin killed the livestock animals that foraged freely in wooded areas and the unsuspecting pioneers, as well. Mrs. Lincoln had gone to help a neighbor who fell ill with milk sickness when she became a victim at the age of 35.
Thomas and Abraham constructed a rough wooden coffin and buried her at the top of the hill. A marble stone in the Pioneer Cemetery honors her, but the exact location of her grave remains unknown.
Thomas Lincoln moved his family to Little Pigeon Creek in 1816, arriving at his 160-acre claim site in December, after clearing a trail ahead of them to drive the wagon and family through. Thomas, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Sarah (age 9), and Abraham (age 7) moved from Kentucky to the new frontier, attracted by rich land, the security of the Federal Land Ordinance of 1785 about property ownership and the absence of slavery.
Two years later on October 5, 1818, Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of milk sickness, poisoning from drinking milk or eating a milk product or the meat from a cow that had ingested any part of the white snakeroot plant. The deadly toxin killed the livestock animals that foraged freely in wooded areas and the unsuspecting pioneers, as well. Mrs. Lincoln had gone to help a neighbor who fell ill with milk sickness when she became a victim at the age of 35.
Thomas and Abraham constructed a rough wooden coffin and buried her at the top of the hill. A marble stone in the Pioneer Cemetery honors her, but the exact location of her grave remains unknown.
Within a year Thomas Lincoln returned to Kentucky to wed Sarah Bush Johnston, a widow he had known for years. She and her three children moved into the cabin with a wagon load of furniture and three books.
Abraham Lincoln had spent about one year in formal school, but he loved to read. We walked around the cabin perimeter. This cabin was the original. We saw the historic hearthstones, excavated in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and replaced with bronze, where young Abe would lie by the fire with a book. The movie explained that two books influenced him greatly--biographies of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
We followed the trail past the Living Historical Farm, a four-acre 1820's homestead farm, that was closed for the season, and around the one-mile loop Nature Trail, reminiscent of the land when it was Indiana wooded wilderness and all part of the Lincoln property. An additional half-mile followed the Trail of Twelve Stones, marking 12 significant events in Lincoln's life with a stone from each location involved.
The return trail took us through Lincoln's corn acreage. That first spring Thomas planted six acres of corn with beans in between so the vines could climb the corn stalks. The family sowed enough wheat for their own use. They grew oats for feed, broomcorn for making brooms and flax and cotton for fabric. Vegetables probably included potatoes, turnips, gourds, beans, cucumbers, melons, asparagus, cabbage, onions, pumpkins and herbs for preservatives.
Abraham Lincoln had spent about one year in formal school, but he loved to read. We walked around the cabin perimeter. This cabin was the original. We saw the historic hearthstones, excavated in 1933 by the Civilian Conservation Corps and replaced with bronze, where young Abe would lie by the fire with a book. The movie explained that two books influenced him greatly--biographies of George Washington and Benjamin Franklin.
We followed the trail past the Living Historical Farm, a four-acre 1820's homestead farm, that was closed for the season, and around the one-mile loop Nature Trail, reminiscent of the land when it was Indiana wooded wilderness and all part of the Lincoln property. An additional half-mile followed the Trail of Twelve Stones, marking 12 significant events in Lincoln's life with a stone from each location involved.
The return trail took us through Lincoln's corn acreage. That first spring Thomas planted six acres of corn with beans in between so the vines could climb the corn stalks. The family sowed enough wheat for their own use. They grew oats for feed, broomcorn for making brooms and flax and cotton for fabric. Vegetables probably included potatoes, turnips, gourds, beans, cucumbers, melons, asparagus, cabbage, onions, pumpkins and herbs for preservatives.
A little snake wiggled past my feet. Andy didn't see this one either. But he was the first to say, "Quick, take a picture" and later "Check it out with the ranger." A little searching confirmed it as a common green snake, and the dark one we spotted two days ago was a grey rat snake.In 1928, Lincoln got a job on a flatboat loaded with produce that was floating down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to New Orleans. That same year his sister Sarah died in childbirth.
Two years later the family moved to Illinois and the promise of better farmland.
I told Andy, "After 14 years of growing corn, no wonder they needed better land. Little did they know how corn depletes the soil."
The Memorial Building, constructed in 1943, of Indiana limestone, sandstone and timber, commemorates the life of Lincoln and his mother who died so young.
Incredibly well preserved, New Harmony experimented in communal living in the early 1800's. A cathedral labyrinth garden, the Carol Owen Coleman Memorial ivy garden, the Episcopal Open Air church... they did a beautiful job of keeping the town in tact. "It's not commercialized at all, and they even have a convention center," said Andy.
Leaves covered the quiet streets, blew across the sidewalks and caught along the curbs. Antique shops lined Main Street where baskets of mums brightened the window boxes and lamp posts. Everything contributed to the relaxing days-gone-by atmosphere. All was at peace in New Harmony.
On the way back we detoured past the Toyota plant. "It's huge," said Andy. With the plant closed for the weekend, we could only drive into the visitors parking area. "It's absolutely gigantic and out in the middle of nowhere. That must mean they do all the construction right here."
Leaves covered the quiet streets, blew across the sidewalks and caught along the curbs. Antique shops lined Main Street where baskets of mums brightened the window boxes and lamp posts. Everything contributed to the relaxing days-gone-by atmosphere. All was at peace in New Harmony.
On the way back we detoured past the Toyota plant. "It's huge," said Andy. With the plant closed for the weekend, we could only drive into the visitors parking area. "It's absolutely gigantic and out in the middle of nowhere. That must mean they do all the construction right here."
The Log Inn of Warrenton, Indiana, built in 1825, served old fashioned family-style meals. Officially recognized as the oldest restaurant in Indiana, the Log Inn was originally a stage coach stop and trading post.
It was perfectly fitting that Sandy seated us in the same log room where Abraham Lincoln had dined in November of 1844, on his way home to Springfield. Researched and restored to its original form, the Log Inn celebrated a grand opening for the uncovering in 1965. It's history preserved! And we shared it. But we settled for hot roast beef sandwiches slathered in gravy since the Log Inn special family style dinner required payment for a table of at least four, and we really had no way of preserving all the extra food.
It was perfectly fitting that Sandy seated us in the same log room where Abraham Lincoln had dined in November of 1844, on his way home to Springfield. Researched and restored to its original form, the Log Inn celebrated a grand opening for the uncovering in 1965. It's history preserved! And we shared it. But we settled for hot roast beef sandwiches slathered in gravy since the Log Inn special family style dinner required payment for a table of at least four, and we really had no way of preserving all the extra food.
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