Many score and numerous decades ago, a great man was born in Hardin County, Kentucky, and eventually, he would move with his family to Spencer County, Indiana, to a little homestead on the banks of Pigeon Creek. From seven years of age until he was 21, this man would call Indiana home, and he would remain here until he moved to Illinois in 1830. Who was this man, you ask? Well, he was none other than President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States and a man known for unifying the nation following the brutality of the Civil War. Did you know he called small-town Indiana home for so many years? Now you do – let’s check out the portion of Spencer County where he grew up.

Spencer County, Indiana, is located in the far south-central region of the state.

OZinOH/Flickr The Spencer County Courthouse is a landmark that’s hard to miss, and although the place where Lincoln spent his formative years isn’t an official town, per se, we still know where it was.

For 14 years, the 16th President of the United States called a small section of land on the banks of Pigeon Creek home.

Archives New Zealand/Flickr This little area is an unincorporated place called, appropriately, Lincoln City, and you can learn a lot about the man and his life here.

Do tours of the Lincoln Boyhood Memorial and discover a replica cabin that’s been built to look identical to the one Lincoln grew up in.

NPS.gov See the professional re-enactors going about daily life as Lincoln and his family would have back in the day. You’ll gain an appreciation of how much tougher life was back then… and how simple it is now.

Hike the same trails and explore the same woods as Lincoln did.

NPS.gov The memorial site is one of just three National Parks sites in Indiana, so we think it’s definitely worth a visit sometime! You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll leave with a new understanding of a very important piece of Indiana’s past.

You can even check out the pioneer cemetery where several of Lincoln’s family members are buried.

Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr Indiana may be called “boring” or a “flyover” state by some (folks who have never been here, we reckon), but they don’t realize just how historically significant the Hoosier State really is.

And Lincoln isn’t the only one - just the most historically prominent!

Steve Baker/Flickr Other notable Hoosiers include Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5, David Letterman, Axl Rose, Vivica Fox, and many more.

Have you ever visited Spencer County in Indiana? What’s your favorite small town in Indiana? Does it have any notable historical significance? Tell us your thoughts in the comments – and if you know of any other famous folks born or raised in Indiana, shout them out!

OZinOH/Flickr

The Spencer County Courthouse is a landmark that’s hard to miss, and although the place where Lincoln spent his formative years isn’t an official town, per se, we still know where it was.

Archives New Zealand/Flickr

This little area is an unincorporated place called, appropriately, Lincoln City, and you can learn a lot about the man and his life here.

NPS.gov

See the professional re-enactors going about daily life as Lincoln and his family would have back in the day. You’ll gain an appreciation of how much tougher life was back then… and how simple it is now.

The memorial site is one of just three National Parks sites in Indiana, so we think it’s definitely worth a visit sometime! You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll leave with a new understanding of a very important piece of Indiana’s past.

Jimmy Emerson, DVM/Flickr

Indiana may be called “boring” or a “flyover” state by some (folks who have never been here, we reckon), but they don’t realize just how historically significant the Hoosier State really is.

Steve Baker/Flickr

Other notable Hoosiers include Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5, David Letterman, Axl Rose, Vivica Fox, and many more.

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Address: Lincoln City, IN, USA