{"nrhp_refnum":"72000464","name":"Lincoln's New Salem Village","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"S of Petersburg in New Salem State Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Petersburg","county":"Menard County","state":"IL","lat":39.98073612150006,"lon":-89.84150296816232,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-06-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["national","state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 20 acres within New Salem State Park near Petersburg, Menard County, Illinois, containing the reconstructed 1830s village where Abraham Lincoln lived. The reconstruction was carried out in 1932-33 by the State of Illinois with the National Park Service.","why_significant":"The village is significant because Abraham Lincoln spent six formative years here, from 1831 to 1837, working as a clerk, storekeeper, postmaster and surveyor while studying law. He was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly from New Salem in 1834. The restoration is also described as the most authentic of its time in the midwest and a landmark in American historic preservation.","narrative":"Lincoln's New Salem Village is a reconstructed 1830s frontier settlement on a hill above the Sangamon River south of Petersburg, Illinois, now part of a state park. Its log cabins, stores, a tavern, a school used for church services and a mill stand on their original sites, many on original stone foundations and piers. Only the Onstot Cooper Shop is primarily original; the rest were rebuilt in 1932-33 by the State of Illinois with the National Park Service, after extensive research into cabin styles, locations and even plant types. The village matters because Abraham Lincoln lived here from 1831 to 1837. He clerked in a grocery, ran a mill, partnered in a store, served as postmaster, enlisted in the Black Hawk War, studied surveying and law, and won election to the Illinois General Assembly in 1834. The restoration itself is regarded as a landmark in American historic preservation.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (1831-1837 Lincoln residence)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Log cabin and timber construction; reconstructed 1830s frontier village","criteria":[],"status_note":"Owned by the State of Illinois and used as a park; the Onstot Cooper Shop is primarily original and the other structures are restorations on their original sites.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:35.938327-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/7/8937/28893707/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_IL/72000464.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000464/6bf62a00ad-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72000464/6bf62a00ad-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":null,"credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Salem_village.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown author</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_Salem_village.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/28893707","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lincoln%27s_New_Salem","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3658797"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/illinois/menard-county/lincolns-new-salem-village-72000464/"}