What is it with me and President Lincoln? I’ll chalk it up to coincidence that I got interested when I was in the right place (his birthplace) at the right time (his 200th birthday) and attended his birthday party and new-penny launch. Revisit my awakening here.
First there was his birthplace and childhood home in Kentucky. Then there was his boyhood home in Indiana. Then he called Illinois 
home from age 21 till eventually he moved to D.C. as President. I recount all this because 1) it details my personal odyssey and 2) it shows that anyone who can lay claim to one of our greatest Presidents does.
This visit was to his boyhood home where he grew up, worked on the farm, and learned the knowledge and values which would eventually define the man he became. It was from age eight to 21 that he lived here after leaving the farm they had started in Kentucky due to a property ownership dispute. As with most National Parks there’s a wonderful museum, an introductory movie, and several statues at the memorial. Better still, parts of his final home were recovered and bronzed and there’s a “living farm” on the property where actors live out the life of the time. Very nice.
President Grant’s White Haven Home
My interest in Lincoln has lead to an interest in Presidents in general. In particular, I like to visit Presidential homes and libraries and museums. From having visited Grant’s Tomb in New York City, I knew I was in the neighborhood of his Lexington home: White Haven. Owned by his inlaws and later by President Grant, this farm was long in the family. While not successful after the end of slavery, it still was the closest thing to a permanent home that he had. To this day it’s very well preserved and worth visiting.
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