Illinois
The Life and Legacy of Abraham Lincoln
Program No. 8370RJ
Learn about Lincoln’s legacy as you explore his home and significant sites in his life and political career. Meet engaging interpreters along the way who bring history to life.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
6 days
5 nights
What's Included
13 meals (
5B, 4L, 4D
)
9 expert-led lectures
8 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
5 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
D
Stay:
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 4:00 p.m. Program Registration 4:30-5:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
When you check in and get your room assignment, you will receive an information sheet on the “Road Scholar Sunday Agenda” listing the location of our private meeting room, schedule for the evening, and the dinner menu. Between 4:30-5:00 p.m., check in with the program staff to get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. We will gather for a “meet and greet” in the meeting room. At 5:00 p.m. the Group Leader will welcome everyone and give us an introduction to the Springfield area.
Dinner:
In our private meeting room.
Evening:
Orientation. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We’ll also receive a map of downtown sites, medical resources, and menus for meals during the week. We will review COVID-19 protocols and will adhere to local COVID-19 guidelines and requirements throughout the program. Face coverings may be required indoors at historic sites, museum/library, welcome centers, and elsewhere. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
A.L. Life & World, Old State Capitol, Presidential Library
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Activity Note
Walking up to 6 blocks to/from Old State Capitol and Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library; standing up to 45 minutes at a time. Face coverings may be required indoors at historic sites, museum/library, welcome centers, and elsewhere.
Breakfast:
7:00 a.m. in the hotel meeting room
Morning:
We will be joined in the hotel conference room by Dr. Samuel Wheeler, who will discuss Lincoln’s place in the popular imagination as well as Abraham Lincoln’s world 1809-1830. There is more written about Lincoln than any other American, politicians from all political parties claim him as their own, and advertisers use his image to sell everything from automobiles and insurance to hamburgers and sleeping aids. Why, after 200 years, does Lincoln still resonate with cultures all over the world? After a short break, we’ll have another lecture on Lincoln’s life from a log cabin to the White House. In addition to saving the Union and ending the 250-year institution of slavery, Abraham Lincoln was also a son, husband, father, and friend. We will learn about both the public and private Lincoln, as well as the country he called home.
Lunch:
In the Lincoln Room of the hotel.
Afternoon:
We will walk two blocks to the Old State Capitol State Historic Site to learn about its fascinating renovation and restoration as well as connections with Abraham Lincoln. We’ll see where he gave his “House Divided” speech, was a well-known political figure, a successful lawyer, President-elect, and where he laid in state before his burial in Springfield. We’ll also learn about the great political rivalry between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas and the many times they opposed each other in this building. Next, we will walk three blocks to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum (ALPLM) and view its treasures. The collection is home to more than 52,000 items related to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln. More than 100 of those items are on display in the museum at any time, with the rest safely stored in the library’s climate controlled vault. During this once-in-a-lifetime presentation, ALPLM staff will bring some of those items out of storage and share their stories with us during this behind-the-scenes presentation. (No flash photography.) The remainder of the afternoon is free. You might like to explore downtown Springfield and learn more about the city in Lincoln’s time from the “Looking for Lincoln” storyboards.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
We will gather for a presentation by John Lupton on Lincoln and the 8th Judicial Circuit. We’ll learn more about Lincoln’s legal and political careers and his friends and experiences on the circuit.
Day
3
New Salem, Lincoln’s Tomb
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 40 miles, approximately 1 hour total riding time. Walking up to 1.5 miles; gravel paths, uneven steps into cabins at New Salem. Face coverings may be required indoors at historic sites, museum/library, welcome centers, and elsewhere.
Breakfast:
In the Lincoln Room.
Morning:
We will board a motorcoach and ride to the New Salem State Historic Site and learn how it was settled, how it influenced Abraham Lincoln, and how it was restored. We’ll also watch the movie “Turning Point,” view current exhibits, and walk through the village Lincoln knew as a young adult with a local expert and learn about “blab” school. Also known as “vocal” schools, blab schools were so called because students repeated aloud the teacher’s recited lessons. We’ll then ride to lunch.
Lunch:
At a café in Salisbury.
Afternoon:
Next, we will take a short ride to the final resting place of Abraham Lincoln and family members at the Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site in the Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield. From lincolntomb.org: “The Tomb, designed by sculptor Larkin Mead, is constructed of brick sheathed with Quincy granite. The base is 72 feet square with large semi-circular projections on the north and south sides. Double sets of stairs lead to a terrace, above which rises the 117-foot-tall obelisk. At the corners of the shaft, large pedestals serve as bases for four bronze sculpture groups, each representing one of the four Civil War military services—infantry, artillery, cavalry, and navy. A taller base on the obelisk’s south side holds a heroic bronze statue of Lincoln.” From the tomb, we will ride throughout downtown Springfield and see the state capitol complex, a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the Governor’s Mansion, and the house of poet Vachel Lindsay, and historic neighborhoods.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to have what you like. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. You might like to try a local favorite. Many restaurants serve the Springfield original “horseshoe” — which has nothing to do with pitching horseshoes. A piece of advice, unless you are very hungry, ask for a “ponyshoe.”
Evening:
At leisure.
Day
4
Lincoln Home & Church
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Activity Note
Walking up to 1 mile throughout the day; gravel and paved sidewalks; no elevator access to second floor of Lincoln home. Face coverings may be required indoors at historic sites, museum/library, welcome centers, and elsewhere.
Breakfast:
In the Lincoln Room.
Morning:
We will walk three blocks to the Lincoln Home National Historic Site for an expert-led exploration of his home and to see the neighborhood he called home for 17 years. In the Visitor Center, we’ll watch the movie “Journey to Greatness” and see current exhibits. We’ll then walk across the street to the First Presbyterian Church for a presentation by Pam Brown on Mary Lincoln.
Lunch:
At the church, we’ll have box lunches.
Afternoon:
Next, we will explore the church sanctuary and learn about the church’s connections to the Lincoln family. We will see their pew and copies of historic documents. The remainder of the afternoon is free. You might like to set out on independent explorations to the Lincoln Home neighborhood, Illinois State Capitol, Illinois State Museum, or the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Dana Thomas House.
Dinner:
At the hotel.
Evening:
We will gather for a presentation by Larry Werline, a living history first-person presenter of Ulysses S. Grant.
Day
5
Presidential Museum, Free Time, Harriet Tubman
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
President Abraham Lincoln Springfield - A DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
Activity Note
Walking up to 6 blocks to/from Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum; standing and sitting according to personal choice, benches available throughout museum. Face coverings may be required indoors at historic sites, museum/library, welcome centers, and elsewhere.
Breakfast:
In the Lincoln Room.
Morning:
We will walk 3.5 blocks to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and meet a former Deputy Director who will tell us how it went from a concept to a world-class facility. <br< We’ll then walk across the street to the Presidential Museum and see two major media programs, “Ghosts of the Library” and “Lincoln’s Eyes.” We’ll have some time for independent exploration to see what interests each of us most.
Lunch:
At the Museum, we’ll have box lunches.
Afternoon:
Free time. This period of time has been set aside for your personal independent exploration to see and do what interests you most. Please refer to the list of Free Time Opportunities. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Please note that the period scheduled for free time is subject to change depending on local circumstances and opportunities for independent exploration. You might like to continue exploring independently at the Museum, visit the Lincoln Depot where exhibits and a short film show Lincoln leaving Springfield, or any of the numerous historical attractions Springfield has to offer.
Dinner:
In the Lincoln Room. Share favorite experiences with new Road Scholar friends during our farewell dinner.
Evening:
We will gather for a presentation by subject matter expert and former Library Services Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. Prepare for check-out and departure after our final session in the morning.
Day
6
Lincoln’s Legacy, Program Concludes
Location:
Springfield, IL
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out 11:00 a.m.
Breakfast:
In the Lincoln Room.
Morning:
We will gather for a wrap-up lecture on “Reconstruction” by Dr. Samuel Wheeler. This concludes our program. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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