Do you know who has the most national parks named in his honor?
No it’s not Theodore Roosevelt or George Washington. It’s Abraham Lincoln! Honest Abe leads the way with five national parks named in his honor, including the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site (Kentucky), the Lincoln Boyhood Home National Memorial (Indiana), the Lincoln Home National Historic Site (Illinois), the Lincoln Memorial (Washington, DC), and Ford's Theatre National Historic Site (Washington, D.C.). Technically, you could also include Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota) as his face is one of the four granite sculptures.
Thanks to each of these parks, you can learn about all stages of Lincoln's life, from birth through death. The Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site preserves a 19th century cabin symbolic of the cabin where Lincoln was born. The Lincoln Boyhood National Monument includes the southern Indiana farm on which he lived from age 7 through 21. The Lincoln Home National Historic Site includes the house where he lived for 17 years before becoming President of the United States. The Lincoln Memorial serves as a tribute to the President and the nation he fought to preserve during the Civil War. And Ford's Theatre National Historic Site preserves the theater where Lincoln was shot, as well as the house where he died on April 15, 1865.
Check out further useful resources to learn about the life and legacy of Abraham Lincoln:
Abraham Lincoln Research Site
Includes extensive information on the life of Abraham Lincoln, including everything from a year-by-year chronology of his life, to his family, to a collection of authentic quotes.
Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
Coverage includes Lincoln's last day, the life of John Wilkes Booth, conspiracy theories, events leading up to and following the assassination, and more.
Lincoln Museum
Located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this is the largest museum dedicated to the life and times of Abraham Lincoln.
Mr. Lincoln's Virtual Library
Offers selections from two collections at the Library of Congress that illuminate the life of Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).
Lincoln Legal Papers
A documentary history of the law practice of Abraham Lincoln (1836-1861), a research project of the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Lincoln's speeches and writings
Links to a series of letters, speeches, and writings, as well as the sermon given at Lincoln's White House funeral.
This week in Lincoln history
Includes brief historical annotations, brought to you by Abraham Lincoln Online.
Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site
Managed by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, monument holds the remains of the Sixteenth President, his wife, and three of their sons.
Lincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site
Preserves the last home of Abraham Lincoln's father and stepmother, Thomas and Sarah Bush Lincoln, and includes the reconstructed Lincoln cabin and a surrounding living history farm.
Text of his first inaugural address
Text of his second inaugural address
