Lincoln and the River

Part of a series of "wayside", or roadside, signs providing information on Lincoln's experiences in Beardstown. The Looking for Lincoln projects provides the following information on their wayside exhibits: "Looking for Lincoln wayside exhibits tell the stories of Lincoln’s life and times in Illinois. Each wayside exhibit tells a unique Lincoln story and a local story. Many of the waysides share little known stories about Lincoln and the individuals he interacted with. There are over 260 Looking for Lincoln waysides in the Abraham Lincoln National Heritage Area."    

The wayside exhibit explores Lincoln's passion for improving transportation in the state of Illinois. Lincoln believed that the Sangamon River, and other waterways could developed as potential " arteries of commerce" that would be "vastly important and highly desirable to the people of this country", and ran on a platform of internal improvements in the 1832 state elections. Although Lincoln lost this election, he continued to support internal improvement projects, such as the construction of railroads and canals near Beardstown that would have made the city an important transportation hub. Few of these projects came to fruition though, and the nearby Beardstown Canal Street serves as " the lone reminder of the Beardstown and Sangamon Canal".

"Lincoln and the River." Accessed December 8, 2021. https://historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HM138L_lincoln-and-the-river_Beardstown-IL.html.

"Lincoln and the River." Accessed December 8, 2021. https://www.lookingforlincoln.org/explore/sites/106/lincoln-and-the-river.