Front Door
When you approach the front door of Lincoln home, you'll see a copy of the original name plate, essential because homes in Springfield did not use street numbers at the time. In 1861, the year the Lincolns went to Washington, Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper published a description of the home saying, "On the front is a black door plate, on which, in silvered Roman characters, is inscribed the magical name 'A. Lincoln.'"It was outside this door that sculptor Leonard Volk saw Abraham Lincoln in May 1860. Volk wrote, "He saw me from his door or window coming down the street, and as I entered the gate, he was on the platform in front of the door, and quite alone. His face looked radiant. I exclaimed, 'I am the first man from Chicago, I believe, who has the honor of congratulating you on your nomination for President.' Then those two great hands took both of mine with a grasp never to be forgotten."
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