Of the numerous Abraham Lincoln sites created and preserved in and around Springfield, the one our readers chose as the best for 2026 sits about 20 miles north by west of the capital city near Petersburg. The state park officially named Lincoln’s New Salem Historic Site was home to young Abe from 1832 until 1837 when the intrepid 28-year-old moved to Springfield.
The original settlement disappeared a few years after he left and lay abandoned until “an imaginative recreation of the log village” was built as a Civilian Conservation Corps program during the Great Depression. It’s now home to more than 20 “historically furnished buildings” plus a visitor center and a 250-seat auditorium as well as a 500-seat outdoor amphitheater that currently hosts Theatre in the Park’s summer productions.
Outside the village, the site encompasses some 700 acres with a campground, playground and picnic area, plus plenty of central Illinois woodlands to roam through on marked trails. The many popular annual events and activities include a Militia Muster reenactment in April and a Candlelight Walk in October, along with several summer season happenings, plus the very popular Traditional Music Festival and Bluegrass Concerts held in September, making this wonderfully special place the very best to our readers.
The site has come a long way since closures due to state budgets cuts of years past, and for that we are very grateful, while wishing more of the best to come for New Salem.
This article appears in October 29-November 4, 2026.
