New Salem is Getting Old Again

posted in: Illinois History | 0

On May 22, New Salem will celebrate the 100th anniversary of an event that occurred on the same date in 1919, many long years after Lincoln had lived in the village, from 1831 to 1837.

It was on May 22 in 1919 that the site was conveyed to the people of Illinois by the owner, William Randolph Hearst. Hearst, a congressman from New York and a wealthy newspaper owner, had purchased the 62-acre site in 1906. The story of how Illinois now has New Salem, that in 2018 was voted the most popular historic site in Illinois, shows that fate can work in interesting ways.

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