Visit the Lincoln In Indiana Museum

An In-Depth Look at Abraham Lincoln from Boyhood to President

Located inside the park's Memorial Visitor Center is a self-guided museum with twelve permanent exhibits. Lincoln said about his time in Indiana, "There I grew up." Part of the museum examines Lincoln's life from ages 7 to 21 and the challenges of life on the frontier including his family, learning and growing, and young adulthood. The other half focuses on his new horizons in Illinois, his gaining national prominence, his presidency and death, ending with the memorial that was built in Indiana.

Some of the more important features in the museum includes a desk made by Thomas Lincoln when the family lived in Indiana and the "A Pioneer Cabin" display depicting what the inside of a cabin looks like. The hearthstones on display are from the cabin site memorialized on the property. The statue of Lincoln was created by Yuan Xikun, a renowned Chinese artist.

When it comes to a time committment, you may spend ten to thirty minutes exploring this space and reading the exhibits.

Details

Duration

15-30 Minutes

Activity

Museum Exhibits

The museum is self-guided, so individual visitors spend a wide range of time in this space, from just a couple minutes to an thirty minutes. On average, most visitors spend about 15 to 30 minutes exploring the museum. 

Pets Allowed

Yes with Restrictions

Pets are not allowed in the building, except for service animals, defined by the U.S. Department of Justice as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”

Activity Fee

No

Entrance fees may apply, see Fees & Passes information.

Reservations

No

Season

Year Round

Time of Day

Day

Accessibility Information

The park museum is accessible to people using wheelchairs, walkers, or other assisted mobility devices. A printed version of the museum text is available upon request. The text for the museum's exhibits does not have a braille translation at this time, although a braille booklet at the front desk includes a translation of the park's brochure and is available upon request. None of the current exhibits include audio tracks or other sounds at this time. 

Desk made by Thomas Lincoln when the family lived in Indiana.

NPS / Alexander

The "A Pioneer Cabin" display shows what the inside of a log cabin looked like in pioneer times.  The cabinet on the left is one made by Thomas Lincoln. The stones are the hearthstones from the cabin memorialized on the park.

NPS / Alexander

There are four tools in this display.  The Adze is a sharp tool with its blade at a right angle to the handle. It was used to smooth out rough surfaces, or to hollow out wooden bowls. The Froe is a knife like wedge of iron with a wooden handle set at a right angle. The Bow Saw was a frame type saw that was stretched taut between two arms by a twisted cord; the saw blade was readily turned by twisting the handles, making it easy to saw curved pieces. The Pit Saw was used for plank sawing.

NPS / Alexander

Statue titled "Before the Day of Decisive Battle". The statue was created by Chinese artist, Yuan Xikum and presented to the park.

NPS / Alexander