In 1829, eleven years after Illinois became the twenty-first state, New Salem was founded on a bluff above the Sangamon River. The village provided an essential sanctuary for a friendless, penniless boy named Abraham Lincoln, whose six years there shaped his education and nurtured his ambition. Eclipsed by the neighboring settlement of Petersburg, New Salem had dwindled into a ghost town by 1840. However, it reemerged in the early part of the twentieth century as one of the most successful preservation efforts in American history. Author Joseph Di Cola relates the full story of New Salem's fascinating heritage.

DigiCat Publishing presents to you this special edition of "Lincoln's New Salem" by Benjamin P. Thomas. DigiCat Publishing considers every written word to be a legacy of humankind. Every DigiCat book has been carefully reproduced for republishing in a new modern format. The books are available in print, as well as ebooks. DigiCat hopes you will treat this work with the acknowledgment and passion it deserves as a classic of world literature.

Excerpt from Lincoln and New Salem The edition of the little pamphlet explanatory of the Objects and purposes of this League, termed by it a Prospectus of The Old Salem Lincoln League for the Restoration of New Salem, the Early Home of Abraham Lincoln, has been exhausted and it has become necessary to supply something in its place. We as sumed that the people generally' knew that New Salem was Lin; coln's Alma Mater, that he came to New Salem a friendless, over grown boy, uncouth and uneducated, with a knowledge of only the barest rudiments of reading, writing and arithmetic; that during the six-years of his residence here, his character was formed; his education completed, his name of honest Abe ac quired; the pathway his feet were to tread during his future life blazed, and his great heart broken by the loss of his first love, the one great romance and tragedy of his life. We find, however, that many of our people have been so en grossed with other matters, more personal to them, that they have failed to acquaint themselves with this phase of Lincoln's life. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A biography of the life of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) when he lived in New Salem, Menard County, Illinois & a history of New Salem & the people who settled there during this time.

Excerpt from Lincoln's New Salem No other portion of Lincoln's life lends itself so readily to intensive study of his environment as do his six years at New Salem. His physical surroundings have been re-created. The names and occupations of practically all of his asso ciates and something of the character of many of them are known. The village was small enough to make practicable a reasonably complete description of its people and its life. Aside from its connection with Lincoln, New Salem is important as an example of a typical American pioneer vil lage. There were hundreds like it. Some of them survived others died, as it did. It is one of the few - perhaps the only one - whose founding, growth and decline can be minutely traced. Part One of this book is devoted to the history Of New Sa lem. It tells who the inhabitants were, how they lived, how they looked on life. Since many of those most active in the village lived in outlying settlements the account is not limited to the village, but provides a picture of the whole community. Part One sets the stage, so to speak; for Part Two, in which Lincoln's activities are discussed, and the meaning of the New Salem years in his development is ap praised. Part Three explains the growth of the Lincoln legend around the site of the lost town, and the changing conception of the significance of the frontier as a factor in Lincoln's life. It explains how New Salem came to be re stored, the manner in which the facts about the old cabins were secured, how the furnishings were acquired, and the problems that had to be solved in the restoration. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.