While we were in Springfield, we visited Abraham Lincoln’s home, which still looks pretty much the way it did when he lived there (although when he first moved in with his young family, it was a smaller house…they added on over the years as he became more successful).

The tours are free, although you do need tickets. They keep them running frequently, and the way they lead you through the home is a very efficient process.

The first room we saw was the formal parlor…very pretty, and filled with breakables!

We briefly passed by the dining room:

And made our way to the more informal family room. Check out the wallpaper!

If the wallpaper in that room isn’t bold enough for you, perhaps the carpet is:

We then went upstairs (holding onto the same railing Lincoln himself used), and saw the guest room at the top of the stairs:

Then on to Lincoln’s bedroom, which contains his actual desk:

I don’t know how he ever got to sleep with this wallpaper surrounding him…and it is the original pattern…no best guess in this room as is the case in some of the others!

Mrs. Lincoln had her own bedroom adjoining her husband’s. Apparently that was a reflection of their status, not their marital happiness. She enjoyed the same crazy wallpaper as her husband!

After peeking into the boys’ bedroom, as well as the very simple room that belonged to the hired girl, we went back down to the kitchen, where we saw the stove that was the pride and joy of Mrs. Lincoln:

That was the end of the house tour. But we also walked around the neighborhood, which is a museum of its own. There are also two additional houses you can enter and look around.

The visitors’ center also has some displays, and two different Lincoln movies you can watch:

There’s something thrilling about visiting the home and neighborhood of a former president, and the park ranger who led our tour was very knowledgeable, and really made the house come alive for us! If you ever find yourself in Springfield, I highly recommend stopping by!