Travel Illinois: Abraham Lincoln's Tomb and Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield

Our 16^th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, is laid to rest in a stately monument in Oak Ridge Cemetery in the city of Springfield, where Lincoln lived and practiced law before moving to the White House. Visitors can tour the inside of the monument where tour guides are available and the surrounding grounds of the 150-year-old cemetery.

When to Go
May through Labor Day, Oak Ridge Cemetery is open every day, 9am-5pm. The rest of the year it is closed on Sundays and Mondays, and December through February it closes at 4pm. Plan to go in relatively pleasant weather as most of your visit will be outside.

June through August, on Tuesday evenings at 7pm, men dressed as Civil War era soldiers conduct a ceremonial lowering of the U.S. flag flying over the tomb. A Civil War mortar is fired and the flag presented to a visitor.

Don't Miss
The bronze likeness of Abraham Lincoln displayed in front of the monument has a shiny nose from generations of visitors rubbing the statue for good luck.

Small-scale versions of famous Lincoln statues are on display inside the Lincoln Monument. In the rotunda, view the reproduction of his statue at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. (the one where he's sitting in the chair). Also on display in the galleries are plaques with excerpts of some of Lincoln's famous speeches.

Follow the galleries to the back of the monument to view Lincoln's burial site. Lincoln's wife Mary and three of his four children are also laid to rest in the tomb. Lincoln's oldest son, Robert, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery at the request of Robert's wife.

From behind the monument, walk down the stairs to view the site of the temporary tomb on the hillside where Lincoln and his sons Edward and Willie lay until the monument was completed. At the bottom of the hillside is the public receiving vault, the site of Lincoln's funeral in Springfield.

At the southwest corner of the cemetery are the World War II, Korean, and Vietnam War Memorials.

For relief from all the solemnity and history, you might want to visit the grave of Roy "Mr. Accordion" Bertelli, who defied the city of Springfield and built his monument (though he was buried elsewhere) on the road leading to Lincoln's Tomb, even when the city tried to seize the plot Mr. Bertelli had purchased. Read Mr. Bertelli's story at RoadsideAmerica.com .

Further Details
Oak Ridge Cemetery is located on the north side of Springfield at 1441 Monument Avenue. Admission and parking is free. Quiet, solemn, and respectful behavior is expected, as the site is a memorial to those deceased.

Because of Lincoln's Tomb, Oak Ridge Cemetery is the second-most visited cemetery in the U.S. after Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. (Gettysburg is third.) Expect a crowd, especially in the summer. Also consider wearing bug spray. In the summer months, the mosquitoes are plentiful in this park-like setting.

For more information, visit the Lincoln's Tomb pages at Springfield Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency .


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