Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site
| New Salem | |
| Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site, National Historic Place Listing | |
| Unincorporated | |
 Welcome center, New Salem State Historic Site
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| Country | United States |
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| State | Illinois |
| County | Menard |
| Coordinates | 39°58′25.32″N 89°50′22.81″W / 39.9737000°N 89.8396694°WCoordinates: 39°58′25.32″N 89°50′22.81″W / 39.9737000°N 89.8396694°W |
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) |
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
  Location of New Salem within Illinois
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 Location of Illinois in the United States
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Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site is a reconstruction of the former village of New Salem in Menard County, Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. While in his twenties, the future U.S. President made his living in this frontier village as a boatman, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, surveyor, and rail splitter, and was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly.
Lincoln left New Salem for Springfield in 1837, and the village was generally abandoned by about 1840, as other towns developed. In the 1930s, the Civilian Conservation Corps built a historic recreation of New Salem based on its original foundations, establishing a state park commemorating Lincoln and Illinois' frontier history. The village is located 15 mi (24 km) northwest of Springfield, and approximately 3 mi (4.8 km) south of Petersburg.
New Salem was founded in 1828, when James Rutledge and John Camron built a gristmill on the Sangamon River. They surveyed and sold village lots for commercial business and homes on the ridge stretching to the west above the mill. 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. The fact that the Sangamon River was not well-suited for steamboat travel was also a reason for the town's decline.
In 1831, when Abraham Lincoln's father, Thomas, relocated the family to a new homestead in Coles County, Illinois, 22-year-old Lincoln struck out on his own. Lincoln arrived in New Salem by way of flatboat and he remained in the village for about six years. During his stay, Lincoln earned a living as a shopkeeper, soldier in the Black Hawk War, general store owner, postmaster, land surveyor, and rail splitter, as well as doing odd jobs around the village. As far as historians know, Lincoln never owned a home in the village as most single men did not own homes at this time; however, he would often sleep in the tavern or his general store and take his meals with a nearby family.
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