News Release

Lincoln Home National Historic Site Displays Jenkins Lot Exhibit during Juneteenth Weekend

Jameson Jenkins Lot, Lincoln Home National Historic Site

NPS Photo

News Release Date: June 1, 2023

Contact: Jasmine Leung, 217-391-3244

SPRINGFIELD, IL: From June 16 to June 19, 2023, Lincoln Home National Historic Site will celebrate Juneteenth by offering visitors access to a pop-up exhibit about Jameson Jenkins and his family's story at the Jenkins Lot on 8th Street near the Lincoln Home.

This neighborhood outdoor exhibit and education program will feature artifacts found in archaeological excavations of the Jenkins Lot, interpretive panels about the origins of Juneteenth celebrations and the Jenkins family, and an archaeological sandbox activity where children can dig for artifacts and catalog their findings. The exhibit and sandbox activity will be available on Friday June 16 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, Saturday June 17 and Sunday June 18 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and on Monday June 19 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

Jameson and Elizabeth Jenkins were free black Americans who traveled to Springfield in the 1840s, settling on 8th Street while the Lincolns lived a few houses to the north. Jenkins worked as a drayman or teamster, and newspaper evidence from January of 1850 mentions his involvement with a "slave stampede," a group of freedom seekers traveling from St. Louis along the Underground Railroad.

All Lincoln Home National Historic Site programs are free and open to the public. For directions to the Jenkins Lot, stop in at the Lincoln Home Visitor Center at 426 S. 7th Street. For more information or a full listing of upcoming programs, contact the Lincoln Home National Historic Site Visitor Center at [phone], at [e-mail], or check the Lincoln Home National Historic Site event calendar: https://www.nps.gov/liho/planyourvisit/calendar.htm