Lincoln State Park

Lincoln State Park
Lincoln State Park
IUCN category III (natural monument or feature)
	Lake Lincoln in Lincoln State Park
	Map of the U.S. state of Indiana showing the location of Lincoln State Park
Location	Spencer County, Indiana, United States
Nearest city	Lincoln City, Indiana
Coordinates	38°06′15″N 86°59′47″W / 38.10417°N 86.99639°W
Area	1,747 acres (7.07 km2)
Established	1932
Visitors	238,147 (in 2003-2004)
Governing body	Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Lincoln State Park is a state park of Indiana, United States. It is located in southern Indiana in Spencer County approximately 35 miles (56 km) east of Evansville. The park was established in 1932 and encompasses 1,747 acres (707 ha). There are 10 miles (16 km) of trails in the park. Many of the recreational facilities found within the park were constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression.

The park was originally established as a memorial to Abraham Lincoln's mother Nancy Hanks Lincoln, whose gravesite is now contained within the adjacent Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial. The family of Abraham Lincoln lived in Spencer County for 14 years, from 1816 to 1830. Lincoln State Park contains numerous sites significant to this period.

The Sarah Lincoln Grigsby Gravesite and Little Pigeon Baptist Church

Within the park's boundaries is the gravesite of Abraham Lincoln's sister, Sarah Lincoln Grigsby, located in a small cemetery next to the Little Pigeon Baptist Church. Thomas Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln's father, was a trustee of the Primitive Baptist church. Thomas and Abraham Lincoln helped to construct the original church and the family occasionally attended services there. The current structure is part of the state park and contains a cornerstone from the original church. A congregation no longer worships there.

The Noah Gordon Mill Site

Also within the park are the Noah Gordon home and mill sites. Noah Gordon was a neighbor of the Lincoln family and maintained a small grain mill. Abraham Lincoln spent many hours waiting his turn to mill grain here. Young Abraham Lincoln is said to have been "killed for a while" when he was kicked in the head by his horse milling grain at Gordon's mill.

The James Gentry Home Site

Young Abraham Lincoln worked for James Gentry at his general store. The home site of James Gentry is located within Lincoln State Park off of trail 3. Abraham Lincoln took a flatboat trip to New Orleans, leaving from Rockport, to sell goods for Gentry. It was on this trip to New Orleans that Lincoln first witnessed slavery.

The Col. William Jones Home

The park also includes the restored Colonel William Jones House near Gentryville. Col. Jones was a merchant, farmer, politician, and Union Colonel during the American Civil War. The home was built around 1834 and the farm contained a general store where Abraham Lincoln was also employed. Born in Vincennes in 1803, Jones settled in Spencer County in 1828. Jones and his wife, Rachel, raised five sons on this farm. The home is open for tours, including a restored log barn. The home is located 1/4 mile west of Gentryville on Boone Street.

Lincoln Amphitheatre

Within Lincoln State Park is the Lincoln Amphitheatre. The amphitheatre is a modern covered outdoor theater that was constructed in 1987 and began producing Young Abe Lincoln (written by Billy Edd Wheeler, that year. After being closed in 2005, Lincoln: Upon The Altar of Freedom premiered in June 2009 for the bicentennial of Lincoln's birth. The play returned for a second year in June 2010 and introduced the new "Concert in the Park" which features cast members singing some of the most popular songs and hymns during Lincoln's life following each nightly performance. In 2011 LINCOLN was rewritten into a musical named A. Lincoln: A Pioneer Tale. It recounts both Lincoln's childhood and major events in his presidency. It opened on June 8, 2012. It played its third season in 2014. From the 2016 season the Indiana department of Tourism operated the Amphitheatre.

Lincoln Interpretive Center

Seasonal programs are offered at the Lincoln Interpretive Center, the park's nature center, which also features natural history exhibits.

References

"Lincoln State Park". Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
United States Geological Survey. "Lincoln State Park, USGS Santa Claus (IN) Topo Map". TopoQuest. Retrieved 2008-07-05.

External links

v t e Protected areas of Indiana
National Park Service	George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Indiana Dunes National Park Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
National Forest	Hoosier
National Wildlife Refuges	Big Oaks Muscatatuck Patoka River
National Natural Landmarks	Big Walnut Creek Cabin Creek Raised Bog Calvert and Porter Woods Nature Preserve Cowles Bog Donaldson Cave System and Woods Dunes Nature Preserve Fern Cliff Nature Preserve Hanging Rock and Wabash Reef Harrison Spring Hoosier Prairie Marengo Cave Meltzer Woods Ohio Coral Reef (Falls of the Ohio) Pine Hills Natural Area Pinhook Bog Pioneer Mothers Memorial Forest Portland Arch Nature Preserve Rise at Orangeville Rocky Hollow-Falls Canyon Nature Preserve Tamarack Bog Nature Preserve Wesley Chapel Gulf Wesselman Park Woods Wyandotte Cave
State Parks	Brown County Chain O'Lakes Charlestown Clifty Falls Deam Lake Falls of the Ohio Fort Harrison Harmonie Indiana Dunes Lincoln McCormick's Creek Mounds O'Bannon Woods Ouabache Pokagon Potato Creek Prophetstown Shades Shakamak Spring Mill Starve Hollow Summit Lake Tippecanoe River Turkey Run Versailles White River Whitewater Memorial
State Forests	Clark Ferdinand Frances Slocum Greene–Sullivan Harrison–Crawford Jackson–Washington Martin Morgan–Monroe Owen–Putnam Pike Ravinia Salamonie River Selmier Yellowwood
State Fish and Wildlife Areas	Hovey Lake Jasper–Pulaski Kankakee Kingsbury LaSalle Pigeon River J. E. Roush Tri-County Willow Slough Winamac
Category Indianapolis Indiana Department of Natural Resources Commons