National Historic Site

Illinois has finally reached the status of a state with a national historic site as part of the National Park Service. The bill signed by President Nixon in Springfield, August 18, designated the Lincoln Home Area as the first national park in Illinois.

The city of Springfield has been working with appropriated city funds and HUD (Housing Urban Development) funds to rehabilitate and renovate the Lincoln Home area for a number of years.

The four block area surrounding the Lincoln Home is to be restored the way Lincoln knew it. Development includes the removal of numerous non-historic structures and relocation of some period buildings to their location around 1860.

Other historic sites in Illinois on the National Register of Historic Places include the Chicago architectural sites; Nauvoo historic district; Bishop Hill historic district; Galena historic district; Ft. Massac (newly designated); Pierre Menard home at Ft. Kaskaskia; Fort de Chartres; Illinois & Michigan locks and towpath; as well as the Lincoln Tomb, Edwards Place, and the Old State Capitol in Springfield.

History in Illinois is assuming additional importance with the National Historic Sites Advisory Committee reviewing all areas of the state for designation of historic sites to be listed in the National Register.

Illinois Parks and Recreation 18 November/December, 1971