New Salem (Menard County), Illinois
From Free net encyclopedia
New Salem is the name of a former village in Menard County, Illinois in the United States. It was located northwest of Springfield approximately 3 mi (5 km) south of Petersburg. It was the location of the 1831 homestead of future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. It is not the same as the present village of New Salem, Illinois in Pike County.
New Salem was founded in 1828, when James Rutledge and John Camron built a gristmill on the Sangamon River. Over the first few years of its existence, the town grew rapidly, but after the county seat was located in nearby Petersburg, the village began to shrink and by 1840, it was abandoned.
This village was rebuilt on foundations of the original village by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. The location is presently a historic park, called Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, featuring reproduction buildings and costumed interpreters representing the era of Lincoln's residency. One building, the Onstot Cooper Shop, is original, although it had been previously moved to Petersburg. It now sits on its original site.
Lincoln's New Salem was visited by approximately 510,000 people in calendar year 2005. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 as district #72000464.