President’s Day has been celebrated each February since 1885. Here in Southern Indiana, you can walk in the footsteps of the 9th President of the United States, William Henry Harrison, and the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
William Henry Harrison served as the first Governor of the Indiana Territory and later became the 9th President of the United States. In 1804 during his time as governor, Harrison built a regal home for his family in the Indiana Territory capital city of Vincennes. He named the home Grouseland, and it is considered the state’s oldest house. Today, Grouseland operates as a house museum and is open for tours.
Decades after Harrison was elected to the presidency, the Harrison family further expanded the Indiana legacy of US Presidents when William Henry Harrison’s grandson, Benjamin Harrison, became the 23rd President of the United States.
One of our most famous US Presidents is Abraham Lincoln, who lived with his family as pioneers from 1816 to 1830 in present-day Spencer County, Indiana. Today, this site is preserved as the Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. Visitors can explore reconstructed cabins and the Living Historical Farm, which is open from mid-April through the end of September and offers a glimpse of pioneer life. The 200-acre park also features a Memorial Visitor Center, wooded trails, and a pioneer cemetery where Abraham Lincoln’s mother, Nancy Hanks Lincoln, is buried.
Lincoln State Park is also located in Lincoln City, Indiana. The 1,747-acre park was established in 1932 as a memorial to Lincoln’s mother. Little Pigeon Creek Baptist Church and Cemetery, where Lincoln’s sister Sarah is buried, is located inside the park, and the historic Colonel Jones Home is located nearby. Visitors can explore 10 miles of trails in the same forest Abraham Lincoln once called home, visit the interpretive nature center, camp onsite, or see a show at Lincoln Ampitheatre.
In nearby Rockport, the Rockport Lincoln Pioneer Village brings history to life with 13 Lincoln-era replica cabins, including the Pioneer Schoolhouse, the Lincoln Homestead Cabin, and Old Pigeon Baptist Church.
About an hour away in Haubstadt, you can dine in the very same room Lincoln ate in during a return visit to Indiana in 1844. The Log Inn is the oldest restaurant in Indiana and still contains the original log room Lincoln visited when the restaurant was a stage coach stop.
